ANTIMO BERTOLINO - CONCEPT

by Anna Radaelli

In the works of Antimo Bertolino, the conscious and impeccable technique in the carved wooden panels, painted with acrylic colours, is the result of a self-taught path that sees the work of restorer coexist with that of the artist, reuniting contemporary artistic production with that of great workshops of the past.

Antimo has had several masters from diverse artistic fields; the result is a cross contamination certainly attributable to Art Nouveau, learned through the techniques of the goldsmith and antique furniture restoration, as well as by more modern artistic movements: Spatialism, Op Art and Minimalism, that are all present in the artist's sculptures.

At first glance, the works appear as paintings, given their creation on wooden panels; however in taking the time to observe the carved waves inside them, they reveal new paths to the observer. Starting from the physical experience, transmitted by the visual sense, the mind calms down and with it any attempt to conceptualise the work. We let ourselves be carried away by the sensual enjoyment given by the movement of the monochrome colour, made alive and iridescent by the carvings that refract the light and by the interior space that suddenly finds itself aligned and part of the exterior.

The work is therefore a mirror that amplifies and reverberates the physical and mental world of those who observe the fractals, the waves, the lights and the colours that turn from two-dimensional objects into real sculptures; within them there is not only the third dimension (depth) but also the fourth (time) and the other dimension, namely that of the observer, protagonist together with the work, in their own perceptible and the perceived world.