What made you approach art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences.. )
I can’t say exactly how and when it happened, but in one of my trips to Italy, in 2013, on a rainy morning, among the columns of the church of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, I took my first photo to which I am dearly attached. At that time I had a compact camera from Nikon. From that moment on, a part of me lives, breathes through photography.
For me, photography is definitely a way of life. I study, watch and read something new about photography every single day. I consider this to be my path and I am grateful for discovering it. I like travel photography and all that comes with it but I feel at ease in black and white approaches and scenarios. I was initially self-taught, and later I attended several workshops and different courses of Photographic Art . Over the years I had many beautiful moments. One of the most memorable ones is the entry into the S16 Vision photography group, from my city. This is how I discovered a new dimension of photography and the desire to see photography as art.
Here, I’ve met a group of amazing people with whom I spent a lot of time talking about photography and with whom I do a lot of photowalks.
I think a part of me is in each picture I take. My life comes through in my images. Every moment is unique, I stop every time my heart tells me there is something special to photograph.
What is your artistic journey, techniques and subjects you have experimented with to date?
I describe my work as Fine Art with a surreal or poetry valency, often inspired by street photography.
I like to travel and take pictures, to document every place I go through. I could say that I can't visit a place unless I can take pictures.
The transition from travel and street photography to Fine Art was made out of a desire to express my vision, my message. I want to convey through my images the emotion of discovering the perspective of a moment, of a story without words.
What are 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
My Fine Art vision, especially in black and white, where light and darkness play together.
Common moments cut from the street and turned into stories.
My work conveys emotion and I tend to embrace light and hope.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Life inspires me, people with joys or difficult moments, sometimes my compositions resemble the human condition in which light and darkness live together. I like to look for new places that will surprise me, but I like the human presence, the usual moments, from everyday life, moments that I then expose in a black and white vision.
What is the intent of your art? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I want my works to inspire and intrigue at the same time, to leave you speechless and to feel the emotion in all your cells. I want to be able to convey to the viewer the emotion I felt when I conceived my works.
What is the process of creation of your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or other)?
In street and documentary photography, post processing is minimal.
In Fine Art works the workflow may take some time. Sometimes I leave a version that I approach after a while. After I select the images I want to move forward I follow my inspiration and my feelings. Usually I have several alternatives of the same composition and then I choose between one of them.
What techniques do you prefer?If yes, can you explain it?
I find the double exposure very challenging and I try all this time in my journeys.
Are there any innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us which ones?
My Fine Art workflow includes certain techniques that I have combined experimenting over time.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with?If yes, Why?
Especially 3: 2 formats because I try not to crop, 5: 4 or 1: 1 less often. As for the support, I like Giclee Fine Art print on Breathing Color Optica One Smooth or Hahnemühle William Turner Matt because it highlights my works.
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared or private studio? And within this space how is your production organized?
I edit and process my works at home. I work with a professional photo lab to print my works using the Giclee Fine Art technique.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for shows or exhibitions? If so, what do you gain from it?
Not yet.
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your figure as an artist in the future?
I want my work to be more consistent, to find more inspiration in the next journeys and for my works to be known both in the country and international.
What is the topic, style, or technique of your latest artistic production?
Conceptual Fine Art and Portrait in low light .
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
Exhibition "Tomorrow is another day" under the auspices of the Fine Art Vision 20/21 event held at the Romanian Gallery in Bucharest between November 1-13, 2021. This year from June 6 to July 6 I will participate at the 3rd edition of the Fine Art Vision 2022, in the same location.
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why would you choose it?
The radiant portrait "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Johannes Vermeer. The light on her face declares Vermeer a master of light.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you propose to spend the evening?
I would invite Garry Winogrand to dinner, a high influential American street photographer who captured everyday life in New York in the 1950s and 1960s, combining documentary photography with photojournalism. I would suggest that we go out together and photograph New York from that period, trying to discover the magic of every moment captured by him, especially "Central Park Zoo, 1967", the photo that fascinates me the most.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
