Interview: Riccardo Passuello
Luca Curci talks with Riccardo Passuello during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 – THE SECRET GARDEN, at Misericordia Archives.

“From an early age, I showed a strong passion for drawing and art in general with the study of the classic up to modern painters including Picasso, Fontana and Burri. Due to their ability to renew and research the new, they represent a model for me. In the 1960s I took part in the ” City of Padua painting competition” where my paintings were selected, thanks to which I won prizes and awards. In the 1970s, I mainly dedicated myself to the graphic creation of posters for various commissions by theatre and music groups. During the same period I collaborated with the Municipality of Padua on the realization of a graphic communication project with the citizens, and with the ARCI Padova designing numerous posters for cultural events. For more than 25 years I worked as a textile designer for national and foreign textile companies, the suppliers of the most important international fashion houses.”

Luca Curci – How did you get to your current artistic practice?
Riccardo Passuello – My artistic path was born when I was a boy, interrupted for several years when I was a fabric designer, it has resumed for four years.

LC – What are your thoughts while you paint? Do you have any habits or rituals while you work?
RP – The way I paint comes from a project that I usually develop overnight. I paint in silence, I have no particular rituals, I only wait for the moment when I am more relaxed and in perfect mental harmony with the project, I have to carry out.

LC – Which art themes do you pursue? What is your preferred subject, if there is any?
RP – My painting is configured as an abstract painting. With it, I want to represent symbols pertinent to the project to which the work is inspired, such as in the series of paintings of ‘Order and Chaos’, or in that of ‘Borders’.

LC – How do you choose your subjects? Is it a reasoned or an instinctive process?
RP – For my subjects, I am inspired, such as “Order and Chaos”, by the struggle that fascinates me between conservative rigour and revolutionary chaos. One does not live without the other. Often black geometric figures express the rigour that contrasts with the disorder of colours interpreted with various techniques.

LC – How do you feel when you see your work completed?
RP – I rarely feel a deep sense of satisfaction, for a few days I always keep it in plain sight to look for defects in the harmony of colours, shapes or in its ability to fully express the concept I wanted to convey. This leads me to always experiment with new possibilities of intervention on the canvas.

LC – Do you agree with our vision of art and what do you think about the theme of the festival?
RP – I find your work to be really important. For us, as painters, being able to compare ourselves with others of different nationalities represents a great opportunity for personal growth. Not to mention the possibility of showing our works to a large and prepared audience.

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
RP – The two works on display are part of the ‘Order and Chaos’ group. The first: ‘Order and chaos 4’ represents a stylise in which we often find ourselves constrained by the conventions, which is violently opposed by a desecrating brushstroke. The second ‘Order and Chaos 13’ represents a monolith in gold leaf that tears apart, giving rise to a waterfall of confetti.

LC – What is your idea about ITSLIQUID GROUP?
RP – Honestly, I don’t know you very much yet, but my impression is that you are a very well organized group and I hope to have other opportunities to collaborate with you.