Elisa Cantarelli

http://www.elisacantarelli.com

Studio: 270

MY WORK... DOTTING

My work stems from the graphic and pictorial research project I undertook during my third year of study at Bologna’s Academy of Fine Art under the supervision of Professor Rosi.

During the first years I enjoyed being the subject of my works, initially using my body as the protagonist and following this integrating objects interacting with the body. The setting or story I would create would then allow me and the photographer to build a series of pieces all tied to a specific object or a motif relevant to the object, (e.g. shoes, fitball, basketball, etc.).

As time went by, my focus moved to the discovery and creation of the object with which I was previously interacting; this idea led me to search for the object to work on or in certain cases the object itself would trigger this (e.g. pink telephone, clock, ashtray, etc.).

Slowly the object has begun to stand out from the body and in fact it is now the main subject of most of my recent projects. Researching the object has become the first phase of my work and perhaps even the most enjoyable: wandering, looking for, buying, taking photos, sometime returning and if not, crafting, glittering, etc.

With the object ready, it is then time to set the scene and take photographs. Although I do not consider myself a photographer especially because, as mentioned previously, most of my earlier work focused on me as the subject of my pieces, this does not mean that I do not like photography. On the contrary, photographing the subjects of my pieces allows me to get lost in capturing the tiny elements and details I want to highlight and makes the final piece feel completely mine.

Although initially I imagine certain concepts being narrating through a couple of pieces, often I end up producing a series of works which tell the story which surrounds the object-subject.

Having many photographs to choose from (thank God for digital cameras) the next phase of my work involves elaborating the image with Photoshop: selecting the best shots, crops, working on the black and white and colour areas, adjusting the brightness, shadows, contrast, etc. Although this step is perhaps my least favourite, I must admit that looking at the final image ready for print is always satisfying.

Once the image has been printed on photographic paper and laid on d-bond it is finally ready for “dotting”. This is by far the most physical phase of the process, where I get in direct contact with my work. Whenever I leave the print shop holding the new piece, there is already a sense of satisfaction which gives me a rush of adrenalin that envelopes me and almost becomes an obsession during the “dotting” process.

During the final phase the “dotting” begins; every single dot of colour (or other) is left to drip, grow and materialise on the surface. Black on black, white on white, shade on shade and where there’s colour, glitter and transparent varnish; all this until the entire surface of the print is covered and the piece is at last finished.
 

ELISA CANTARELLI
date of birth: 28 - 09 -1981 (Fidenza, Parma)
nationality: Italian
education qualification:
1996 - 2001 Art Institute P.Toschi in Parma 2001 - 2006 Fine Art Academy in Bologna

MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCES:

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2005 Banca Nazionale del Lavoro – Fiorenzuola (Piacenza)
2007 Scarpette (Pumps), La Pillola Gallery, by Gaetano Sorbetti – Bologna
2010 Oggetti di desiderio - Laboratorio delle Arti Gallery – Piacenza
2011 Elisa Cantarelli - Dots, The Framers Gallery, curated by Laura Petrillo – London.
Elisa Cantarelli VS Andrea Montin, Blundell Street Studios – London
2012 11 in punto, curated by Laura Petrillo – Bologna.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2005 Oggetti pronti all'uso, Dont Gallery – Carpaneto (Piacenza)
Babele, i luoghi della contaminazione – Forlì
2006 Female artist in the world – Salsomaggiore Terme (Parma)
Babele, i luoghi della contaminazione – Pieve di Cento (Bologna)
2007 A.R.G.A.M. Primaverile Romana, Fidia Arte Moderna Gallery – Roma
In Movimento, Showroom Fratelli Broche – Bologna
2008 Girando-le, La città si nota – Parma
Lettura fresca, C30 Contemporary Art Gallery e Museo Medievale,
by Christian Vasciarelli – Bologna
2009 Tempo, temp(i)o, t riempio, i Manovali dell'Arte, Laboratorio delle Arti Gallery –
Piacenza
BoulevART, Elisa Cantarelli in Domusnova Design, Parma
2010 Oltre all'Arte, Spazio Rosso Tiziano Gallery – Piacenza
2011 Big Deal n?3, The Collective, by Vanya Balogh, Croft & Balogh – London
No Fictional Additives, Moving Gallery, by Sofia Mattioli and Anna Šlocarová –
Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK)
Big Deal – Sexy 100, by Vanya Balogh, Croft & Balogh – London
 

FAIRS
2006 Vernice Art fair – Forlì
Immagina 2006 – Reggio Emilia
2007 Art Fair Art First – Bologna
2009 Art Fair Art First – for Base Gallery (based inTokyo) - Bologna
Art Fair Tokyo – for Base Gallery (based in Tokyo) – Tokyo
Mercanteinfiera Primavera – Parma
Paris Photo – for Base Gallery (based in Tokyo) – Paris
2010 Art Fair Art First – for Base Gallery (based in Tokyo) – Bologna
Art Fair Tokyo - for Base Gallery (based in Tokyo) – Tokyo

COMMENTS & REVIEW

A personal game
full-bodied dots shade on shade
particuly sensitive touch
the onlooker is involved through an exaggeration of senses
from far away: the view
the mind works to bring it closer
contact – touch
feeling – emotion
invited to touch like seeing with their eyes closed
Elisa Cantarelli

The body is the real subject of these works, and also search of this artist that favours the female body, her body, the one nearer to her own experience. Divided body, magnified, instrumentalized and offered body, not like an expressive way but like a studied object proposed to the public touch, even if through the painting art that becomes
three-dimensional in order to be “acted” by observer invited to touch.

Giuliana Ghidoni (2006)

Elisa Cantarelli shows herself with grace in a choreographic dance of images. A female waltz.
Pleasant and passional shots come before a playful wandering around areas of her body,
physical but also and above all inner self, flattend before and resewed after on a new synthetic skin.
There is a research of a tactile glare that teases, her works wide and evident leave us fully satieted, you can just keep looking at them again and again, dot on dot, quiver after quiver;
the lines match themself to the colours while the dot goes along with the surface.
Few and evident constructive rules make Elisa's work a pure pleasure for the eyes, but for people who have other kind of eyes, they will enjoy the ecstasy that are both mother and muse of this dancer of emotions.
Gaetano Sorbetti (2007)

Finally some news from young emilian artists. The Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna have craked out another pure and limpid talent: Elisa Cantarelli; she has a really new and tender touch.
Her method is very particular: the photo prints are overlayed with thousands of dots patiently done one to one with precision.
Dots, colours, brightness and shades make these images live, subjects of Elisa's effort.
The feeling that you have focusing on the details is that the moment nearly comes out and then the emotions are of the onlooker but are also affected by artist's sensations.

Mattia Rizzi (2009)

Her photographic works focus on the details of reality; the artist looks for images on which to elaborate thoughts and movements through the medium of paint.

The central motif is the body (of the artist herself) which is examined against the themes of reality as well as her physique and beauty (the Fitball and I love this game series are dedicated to basketball). In her last pieces, however, the attention moves towards the object, permanent or ephemeral, like the smoke of a cigarette such as in the recent series Smoking.

The colour of the paintings emerges through a myriad of tactile dots, which have an infinite shade of colour. Generally one vibrant colour is used as the focus and stands out from the background shades of black and white.

Through the vision of the whole composition the viewer is left magnetised by the coloured dots, which appear similar to waves or a mosaic, and which when closer appear like a tactile melange which goes beyond the initial visual impact.

Alessandro Azzoni (2010)