Artificial Creatures
by Antonio Pauciulo
Castello 925 presents Artificial Creatures an exhibition of paintings by Antonio Pauciulo opening 20 April and running through 10 July, 2022.
Pauciulo’s painting explores possible narratives of our time where the emotional content refers to a progressive process of artificialization, virtual realities that move away from the tangible world.
With the new series H the artist reveals an iconography of the void, understood as a beauty. The core of human identity is spread in a multitude of objects, thus replacing the unity of the subject. This transformation is an opportunity to imagine a new existential meaning of our times.
The exhibition displays paintings and split-paintings which share the same iconography. The paintings are portraits built on a dialectic between appearance and mental states.
They visualize a certain emotional identity which is subsequently mentalized by the split-paintings. The split of the planar unity of the painting into several layers makes the void visible and these emotions safe.
This series is inspired by personal experience and psychoanalytic references. In particular the philosophy of Heinz Kohut, who recognizes in the artificial dimension of the "homo psychologicus" the product of a certain specific civilization, which is clearly distinguished from nature.
WORKSHOP
The workshop Artificial Creatures, dedicated to Antonio Pauciulo's exhibition was held on May, 20th 2022. On this occasion, the artist introduced his paintings, which are closely related to the philosophy of Heinz Kohut and the perception of the self, with particular references to pathological narcissism.
An initial introduction by the artist opened a comparison between the thoughts of Sigmund Freud and that of Kohut. The concept of void, crucial in Pauciulo's work, is closely related to pathological narcissism and the condition of the individual in contemporary times.
The estrangement from family, religious and social institutions that occurred in conjunction with the change in communicative structures was central. From this topic it followed a reflection on the psychological situation of individuals belonging to the younger generation. Spike Jonze's film Her was an indispensable cinematic reference to introduce a reflection on interpersonal relationships and how they are gradually being replaced by human-object relationships. An unfailing final toast closed the event to which the participation of the guests was warm and constructive.
