Lorenzo
Davitti

The work of Lorenzo Davitti explores the subtle balance between control and chance through an expressive and flowing process that is deeply rooted in printmaking. Informed by an admixture of concepts drawn from human and natural sciences (psychology and astronomy in particular), Lorenzo’s printing process is one where accidental gestures are counterbalanced by controlled application of the technique. Decisions regarding marks, lines and colours are taken intuitively and, rapidly; sometimes driven by chance, some other times by careful planning. This dichotomy is itself parallel to the process of knowledge building, and is reflected though a series of trials and errors, provisional states and in-between shapes.

The resulting imagery is abstract, colourful and organic, constructed by using traditional drypoint plates, as well as found material, fabric, ribbons and paper offcuts. The prints feature ambiguous objects; shapes that are more suggestive of movement and temporality rather than mass, space or volume. The goal is to engage viewers in an experience that is both emotional and creative, by allowing them to make use of their own desires, memories and reasoning when navigating the image. The use of unusual or unexpected material makes possible to create a variety of visual elements that allows the viewer to choose where to direct their attention. Features as embossing, texture, folds, colour blends, negative space are indeed an incentive to engage with the print from up close, as well as from afar. The artist himself, given the role chance and automatism play in the process, can interact with these prints in a way that is extremely similar to the viewer’s: always as a new object, that can still show something new, something unnoticed before. In this respect, the process is seen as experimental; It is not meant to provide answers or conclusions; it is more of aniterative process, in which every piece is in itself a success and a starting point for further exploration.