Interview with painter Stefano Casati

Interview with Stefano Casati:

FG: If you had to tell someone the story of your life, where would you start?

Stefano: I would start from an episode, one of my first memories, when I used to ride my bike for visiting my grandfather in his garden in the countryside. I was six, seven years old.  

FG: Where do the series of work “Onanism” your present on Fumogallery arise from?

Stefano: I was doing some sketches on paper, as a little diversion (sometimes I catch a break from the canvas, which requires more responsibility and effort), but I was not satisfied, I wasn't able to get the depth I have in my mind; so I thought about trying to “stratify” by painting glass and frame as well, by directly involving them in my work, to achieve a good level of completeness. The title comes from the fact that, while painting those papers, I was gloating about how good I was in matching colours, shapes, spaces and other shit like that, a rare boost of self-esteem, then, which I had the idea to set in a series. Plus, it was a lot of fun making it, therefore “Onanism” seemed to me a truly appropriate title.  

FG: What are the feelings you are trying to convey or expect people to have when interacting with your art?

Stefano: Amazement, Drama, Lightness, Unpleasantness, Poeticalness, (I don't believe this word even exists,I hope you can understand what I mean) Melancholy, but also a little hope.  

FG: Every piece of art has its own vocabulary, a visual vocabulary that confer it structure and interest. Your work is very abstract; what would you tell your fans to help them apprehend your work?

Stefano: I don't think I am able to give any suggestions to anyone, I believe that my work is easy to acknowledge, it does not have particular trappings which require explanations. I noticed that people admire my paintings without asking too much about it, I suppose everyone has his or her own personal way to understand it and I prefer not to interfere. The only thing I do, sometimes, is suggesting not to search for shapes which evoke something real, such as an animal, a face, because that is not the reading key.  

Fumogallery: On average, how long does it take for you to create an artwork? 

Stefano: These are fast works, it would take me one or two days for making them, some need to “decant” for some days more in order to be completed, but not more than two days, usually.  

Fumogallery: What do you need to feel happy?   

Stefano: It takes so little, a beautiful song, a nice light, breaded steaks. Happiness is in a moment.