Interview: Rosalba Carlino
Luca Curci talks with Rosalba Carlino during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 – 9th Edition, at Misericordia Archives.

Rosalba Carlino’s personality embraces several aspects in the field of figuration and creativity. Teacher of Painting Disciplines since 1988, she has also dealt with silk-screen art printing and the creation of works for advertising campaigns (“Bulgari” sky backgrounds). From a very young age, she took her first steps on the national and international scene and has created solo and group exhibitions curated by art critics and historians including Prof. Francesco Gallo, Prof. Giuseppina Radice, Prof. Marilisa Yolanda Spironello, Prof. Marcello Venturoli, Antonio Vitale. From 2016 to 2018 he was part of the cultural gallery association Arte al Centro. He currently teaches at the E. Greco Art School in Catania.

Luca Curci – What are you currently working on?
Rosalba Carlino – I’m currently working on different big paintings, moving from one to another, always trying to find a way to communicate a feeling of infinity. To this deeply creative world is added that of school education which is really important to me as the relationship with my pupils is truly inspiring. The students of the Artistic High school “Emilio Greco” in Catania, where I have been teaching for several years, and I have built a wonderful relationship that is stimulating in both directions.

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most? 
RC – I’ve always been attracted to surrealism and metaphysics and I think that, from the very beginning, this is clearly revealed in my artworks. The paintings’ details represent wide open spaces, characterized by a strong perspective aimed at accentuating the sense of immense.

LC – Did your style change over the years? In which way?
RC – If during the first years my artwork was characterized by soft colours with prevalent soft and dreamy pastel blue, at a later stage and especially during the last years, it has been marked by the inclusion of air vortices full of intense contrasts with coercive and tension load visual impact.

LC – What is your creative process like?
RC – Surrealist painting was an oneiric painting, my artworks get close to this movement, but in a much more rational and less instinctive way, I would say an imagined and idealized way! A dream that is anyhow attentive and intended, as if I were observing from the outside in a privileged position while keeping a conscious glance at our everyday life. I feel really influenced by the colours of my homeland, by the sky and the sea; these elements are truly crucial to me.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
RC – The most challenging part is the phase preceding the creation of the work itself! It is the creative stage without a doubt.

LC – We were attracted by your last artistic production, has the artwork presented been created for the festival or as a part of preexisting works?
RC – I did not realize the work on purpose, it already existed, but I believe it perfectly matches the theme.

LC – In which way the artwork presented in our exhibition is connected with the festival’s theme?
RC – I can surely see how my paintings can be a mirror of the changes that occurred in our society, from a historical moment rich in opportunities and growth during the 80’s, to a progressive sense of uncertainty derived from today’s geopolitical situation. Nevertheless, there is no lack of bright
and optimistic chromatic elements, which reflect my way of being and thinking. I believe that this optimistic vision, which I think arises from my works, can represent a call to commitment to the new generations and a drive to search for an ever-growing positive horizon, full of hope, in an ever-changing world. I think this is deeply related to the concept of “Identity and context in the contemporary world”.

LC – What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform?
RC – This is the first time I had the pleasure of collaborating with ITSLIQUID and I find that it is a committed organization, full of interesting aspects.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
RC – For an artist, every participant in an exhibition represents a moment of assessment and discussion both with people and the public. The confrontation itself is much more rewarding if the context is of value and reputation and I really think this could be!