The moment of shooting is depicted schematically and succinctly. Berruti erases the background and any identifying, personal details, creating instead a monotonous, uniform archetype for each figure by means of a simple contour. The children are transformed into anonymous universal figures, depicted in a state of frozen anticipation, appearing indifferent and banal. The painting conveys feelings of muteness and absence, and the elimination of detail underscores the emptiness and the detachment. At the same time, the works awaken a latent childhood memory in the viewer, connecting him to his own past. Despite the abstraction and minimalism, the children evoke identification and empathy, and the soft colors reinforce the intimate humane atmosphere.
Berruti works in the ancient traditional technique of fresco (whose name derives from the Italian word denoting “fresh”), which is performed in stages and requires special skill. The technique is based on the application of water-soluble pigment directly onto a wet wall. In order to allow for the shipping of the works, Berruti decided to replace the wall with a burlap surface, whose coarse texture and brown color contribute to the final quality of the works.
Berruti came across the fresco technique in 1996, when he moved to Verduno, a village near Turin in Italy, to live in a deconsecrated 17th-century church, whose ruined sections he set out to renovate and restore. He studied the traditional fresco technique, became enchanted by it, and decided to implement it in his own art works as well. Work in fresco demands prolonged, thorough treatment, including preparation of the plaster and pigments, covering the burlap with layers of plaster, and finally transferring and painting the image. The pigments are absorbed into the fresh plaster, producing delicate tones, and the crude texture lends the work a personal signature and a sense of motion.
Alongside the traditional fresco pieces Berruti also works in the contemporary medium of video, presenting a short animation film comprised of some 400 drawings. The protagonist is Berruti’s typical minimalist figure portrayed in motion.
Valerio Berruti (1977) was born in Alba, Italy. Lives and works in Verduno, Italy.
Courtesy of Ermanno Tedeschi Gallery, Turin
Less Reading...
