Interview with Corrado De Meo

Interview

Published: 02.04.2014

Author:: klimt02

Edited by:: Klimt02

Edited at:: Barcelona

Corrado De Meo, Brooch
Polystyrene, silver, acrylic paint
9 x 7,5 x 2,5 cm

At times I am under the impression that schools leave an imprint (stamp) which is too recognizable among students, even if subsequently I believe that the original personality emerges.

Do You think that jewelry is being standardized?
At times I am under the impression that schools leave an imprint (stamp) which is too recognizable among students, even if subsequently I believe that the original personality emerges.

What is there of local and universal in Your artistic work?
From the attraction that I have with matter itself and the attention I give to its physical presence in space, my ''Latin'' origin emerges. There is a physical law that says ''nothing is created nothing is destroyed''. This is what I observe and experiment and this is what I think, rendering my work ''universal'', the research on matter transformation.

What do You expect when exposing your work to the public?
I am waiting to be able to create a ''formal poetic and universal language'' that talks about the sensibility of matter that I forge finding a balance between its aesthetic value and its narrative one. Moving its horizon Beyond its economic values of materials utilized, which does not interest me at the least, I would like to think over the idea that matter attacked by the elements of nature or manipulated by the hand of man, has its own path, a beauty of its own in continuous transformation like our existence.

Are other areas besides the jewelry, present in your work?
Obviously less, particularly the interest which I have for sculpture it is evident that the observation of volumes which define my work, that diluted into space could express self formed generated sculptures and not only ‘’body furnishing’’.

The last work, book, film, that has moved me was…
I think about ‘’Art in Pompei and Ercolaneum’’ seen at the British Museum, in the month of July in London. It struck me to see the ‘’red thread’’ which holds together the classic narrative of the frescoes of Pompei to the works of Potorno, till the classic era recuperated from Picasso’s art works after his trip to Italy, I think in the 70’s. It is a lesson on how art has its own universal message that never grows old, and the questions are always the same ones.

A place, space, country whose creativity surprise me…
I have traveled, and I have met the main cultures and I have always been struck by the capacity of poor countries to find art through recycling, starting from creative solutions to their day by day problems; in Africa for example, I have seen many ‘’transformations’’ of matter, in other words things changing their forms and destination of usage, and this has made me think a lot. I too, conceptually try to use in my work recycled material and continue to search for material, which will enable me to discover new forms of beauty.

Is there any designer, jeweler, artist, you appreciate a lot?
This is a difficult question, because there are many whom I professionally appreciate, one of them is Giampaolo Babetto with whom I have worked with for a week, and seeing him work is like observing a monk performing a religious rite.

What piece or work has given you the most satisfaction?
My latest work entitled Paisaje is a silver broche electroformed with acrylic. Each one of us hopes that their last work will be the one which gives the most satisfaction. It is a way to look at the future as a good luck omen.