Born from his exploration of the world, creating a synergy between matter, elements, and time, his art is a revelatory agent. It invites us to change our perceptions in order to access knowledge.

Although Fabio Roncato studied painting at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, he quickly abandoned this medium to explore other materials and techniques, undertaking numerous residencies around the world for his artistic research. Immersion in new environments and the discovery of inspiring landscapes broadened his creative horizons. From the outset, water played a key role, as evidenced by the Momentum series begun in 2018.

By immersing himself in the cold water of a river with his still-malleable, melted wax sculptures, he instantly freezes the evolution of their forms. Retaining the memory of the waves and currents that shaped them, they become a revelation of forces our eyes cannot perceive. Escaping all control, even dangerous, nature extends the artist's gesture by sculpting the material offered to it. The artwork is now inextricably linked to a decisive moment, of which it becomes a metaphor. This captured instant will become eternity once the work is immortalized by its casting in aluminum.

Wax, clay, paper, wool, ink… whatever the materials, Fabio Roncato seeks to create conditions conducive to generating autonomous artistic expression. Incorporating the forces of water, gravity, magnetic force, and even electricity into his work, he effaces himself to allow emotion to emerge. His pieces invite us to change our perception of the earth, water, sky, and the stars themselves.

Where science deciphers the information of our cosmos, Fabio Roncato seeks to transcribe it by exercising the imagination. In 2019, for The Star's Engine, he captured with a drone the crashing white foam of waves onto black volcanic sand, reminiscent of the density of space. Gathering these images of the shoreline into a circle, he reshaped the oscillations of the sea into a pulsating halo depicting a solar eclipse. " The more we train ourselves to exercise our imagination and creativity, the more we attain knowledge. That's what I'm trying to do. I want my works to be as open to interpretation as possible, so that everyone can find their own entry point and their own place within them ," the artist explains.

Stepping outside the studio to engage with audiences also gave Fabio Roncato the opportunity to imbue his work with a human dimension. Inspired by the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea, which defied the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan for nine days, from May 18 to 27, 1980, his nine vases in the installation *Follow Me* are highly symbolic. Created in 2023 in collaboration with local artisans, modeled after traditional terracotta jars, these plaster vessels were placed beneath a waterfall, as if to contain its turbulent waters. The flow eroded the vases, passing through them to regain its free course, in the same way that the power of the crowd overcame the obstacles erected by the regime on the path to democracy.

Slowly but surely, a new reality was born. "II believe that art can be useful to humanity in expressing its memory in a different way and getting to the heart of things. “,” says Fabio Roncato. This is how he also paid homage to the salt workers of Slovenia in 2021, by tracing a compass rose in a salt and peat soil steeped in history. His latest experience, lived in Transylvania while exploring rites of passage between childhood and adulthood, is full of promise. Introducing fire, a new element in his work, it is rich in “ Emotions that make up a universal language. Transforming them into works of art is a way to communicate and break down borders. ».

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“ALCHEMY” FONDAZIONE BEVILACQUA LA MASA – PALAZZETTO TITO
DORSODURO 2826, VENICE (ITALY)
FROM OCTOBER 26 TO NOVEMBER 24, 2024
BEVILACQUALAMASA.IT
The Brigantia catalogue will be published to coincide with this exhibition. Curator: Annika Pettini.