Do you have — Anything to Say?
art, politics, contemporary political art
Davide Dormino, Italian Sculptor
I like a lot of different styles and periods of art and normally favor painters over sculptors. But that’s just because there are more colors in painting generally. Today in the Artists I Like series is Davide Dormino, a living artist, who some might think had the audacity to say anything in his project about freedom Anything to say. Yes there is craftsmanship and technique and the sculptures are interesting to look at but it is the idea AND the presentation that elevates the work.
Artists I Like: Davide Dormino
Besides the grand gesture of creating statues and creating political art of what some may consider controversial figures, he uses a chair. The chair isn’t some early 20th century idea of art as an object but a symbol. There aren’t 3 chairs with statues on them but 4 — one is empty for you — yes for you.
He speaks about it in the following passage –
“Art can be political. I believe in acts. The chair has a double meaning. It can be comfortable, but it can also be a pedestal to rise higher, to get a better view, to learn more. They all chose to get up on the chairs of courage. They made their move in spite of becoming visible and thus judged. Many think they are traitors and terrorists. History never had a positive opinion of contemporary revolutionaries. You need courage to act, to stand up on that empty chair even if it hurts.”
As for this particular project, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his collaborator or as he says the man behind the idea — Charles Glass, born in 1951, is an American author, journalist and broadcaster specializing in the Middle East.
Finally there is much ado about this project — which for me seems to be the purpose of art in general so if you like it or not, he succeeded in his mission to make a public art piece. At the end of this article are several links to various articles about the project.
More about Davide Dormino
Honestly I don’t really know much else about Davide Dormino since he is new to me but that’s changing as I found this interview with him that you can read too –
Furthermore, a look at his art on his site for me needs more reflection. Of course it would’ve been nice to see it in person (I digress) but I wouldn’t have even known him had it not been for the internet. Immediately I was drawn to his Magnetism series of images.
You can find more Artists I Like here.
The other links for you here —
Since originally publishing this article on my art blog, I found and posted a video that is no longer available, so my recent quest found another one —
Hope you enjoyed getting acquainted with Davide Dormino’s work. If you found this post useful, please show me your love by tapping on the ❤ button at the end of this post.
You can also read more of my articles here.
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About The Author
Amy Adams is a fine artist (MFA Painting — Academia de Arte Vizuale Ion Andreescu) living and working out of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
She is passionate about the visual arts and music. You can connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and her website.
