Interview: Lavinia Longhetto
Luca Curci talks with Lavinia Longhetto during THE BODY LANGUAGE 2021, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Lavinia Longhetto is a polyhedric artist and photographer, 1986. She lives and works near Venice. Graduated on Engraving art from Fine Arts Academy in Venice, the artist embraces different ways of artistic expression. Drawing is her main work tool, with which she represents an exasperated human body that suffers the consequences of time and violence. In 2012 the artist founded her first large-scale project of social art: “In Violence”. Lavinia’s graphic sign gives form and expression to the body and its articulations. In her works, the artist mixes influences from different artists: Schiele, Woodman, Giacometti, Dumas and many others. Lavinia Longhetto exhibits in many solo and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

Luca Curci – Which subject are you working on?
Lavinia Longhetto – My artworks are about the body, a female body that deeply suffers the consequences of everything around her.

LC – How did you get to your current artistic practice?
LL – I started to work on this subject while I was studying at the Academy of Fine arts. During the first three years, my projects were about self-portraits. After that, I decided to change my point of view, so I focused my work on the body. For my BA, I wrote a thesis about violence in general and violence on the female body. I still work on the body and its language, its beauty and its ugliness.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
LL – It is certainly a project with an extremely strong psychological theme. It helps me a lot to put myself in the shoes of the bodies I draw, on their individual stories related to the moments in which they were created. Another very important thing: too often I see artistic projects on violence against women faced in a very trivial way and without any technical basis. This is an enormous limit: without a good and basic art technique, we risk underestimating the problem and the project. You have to be very humble, aware of your own limitations, study infinitely and then, perhaps, try to undertake a project of this kind.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
LL – Very, very difficult. There are no rules, everything is allowed both by the artists and those who manage them. Very few study art in an Academy, too many are self-taught who are lucky enough to have some proper contact. I think that the real talents nowadays are very few, those who have no talent have luck in contacts, and those who have talent, common sense and humility remain at the bottom of the queue.

LC – How do you choose your subjects? Is it a reasoned or an instinctive process?
LL – Both. Any work of art of great significance cannot and should not be left to chance. The design processing period may be short or long, matured or in an infinite phase of maturation. Instinct is very important when the work of art is put in place, but also in this case it depends on the techniques that are used. Often with the instinct to risk ruining the work and also to throw away expensive material. Everything must be balanced

LC – What do you think about the concept of this festival? How did it inspire you?
LL – I think it’s a good idea to explore many different ways of making art e different artists’ characters.

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
LL – The artwork “Sospensioni” was created during the tough months of lockdown due to the Corona Virus pandemic. What I personally suffered most was, and still is, being suspended, floating in uncertainty, walking on a very thin thread, not being able to give myself answers. The only certainty I have, since the pandemic began, is that everything is uncertain, except what I feel. The suspension element in this work is given by the thick and intrusive black hangers, in sharp and deliberate contrast with the light shapes of paper. The suspension of life we were all used to, caused our body to dissect. For this reason, there are one face, two legs and two hands. Uncertainty is as heavy as the uncertain reaction of the human being is light.

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
LL – It’s a very good and professional organization

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
LL – Yes, a lot!

LC – What are your suggestions about our services? Is there something more we can provide to artists?
LL – It would be nice if there was a network of exchanges and contacts between artists and collectors.