Marco Grassi, 1987 | Hyperrealist painter

Born in Reggio Emilia, Italian artist Marco Grassi still lives and works in his native city. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna.

Marco chose to devote himself full time to painting, a passion that accompanies him since he was a child. Line quality and delicacy in the colors are fundamental aspects of his painting.

Fascinated by the changes of body and personality, he tries to reinterpret the human forms through metamorphosis and other contamination. His first solo exhibition was held in his hometown, Reggio Emilia, in December 2013 at the old Palazzo Calcagni.

Among the latest exhibitions in which he participated is Algo mas que realism VIII, a major exhibition on the pictorial realism that is held every year in Zaragoza.

He will also be present at the next Context Art Miami 2015.

"The magic of art is able to create a bridge between what is sensory and what is material, until it come to us. When trying to create something new, something that still manages to excite, the medium, the channel, the style (etc.) are secondary".

Technique

From an early stage in his art career, Marco studied the painting techniques of many of the old masters.

Over time, he modified and reinterpreted them in new ways to create his unique personal style and contemporary finish.

Maybe it is the extreme realism with a variety of small, fine details that forces the audience to stop and focus their attention on his paintings.

Nevertheless, there is something else that plays an essential role in the creation of each one of his paintings. That is ‘sfumato’, a technique mastered during the Renaissance by the Italian painters.

Marco employs it in a new way, updated for the 21st century, with the soft transitions between each part of the painting, achieving very delicate and natural color passages.

Philosophy

Marco is particularly interested in the changes within a person’s body and personality.

This is why he often portrays people in a moment of metamorphosis.

The bodies of the characters become allegories, figurative expressions of various concepts and above all, the relationship and fragile balance between humans and Nature.

Those continuous transfigurations, human figures evolving into unanimated matter, the contamination of Nature, as well as the resilience of human beings, are the main focus of his artistic research. In this way, Marco’s paintings slip away from the boundaries of the typical definition of hyperrealism.

They surpass the idea of a simple reproduction of photography and bring his art into a limitless creative dimension while maintaining extreme high quality of the depicted images.

Speaking on the idea of female beauty, Marco notes: "A woman’s beauty may be revealed through the painter’s ability to capture a moment in time that epitomizes her essence. If I succeed in finding a balance and harmony on the canvas, I think that makes the figure enchanting".