Laura, could you share some insights about your professional background?
My artistic training was in Venice. For more than 5 years, I studied anatomy and other techniques. The career focused on traditional painting.
Ironically, in high school I focused on languages and chemistry. But that wasn’t for me, my mind and imagination were always working. I felt deeply that I wanted to become an artist.
What did you do after your artistic training in Venice?
The same year I finished my degree (2008), I won an Artist in Residence scholarship from the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation. I spent three months in Urbino, Italy, studying metal sculpture. Then I traveled a bit and in 2010 I settled in London.
I started exhibiting regularly starting in 2012. I started at the Italian Embassy and then participated in some group exhibitions. In 2016, I had the opportunity to hold an exhibition, “Tomorrow’s child”, at the Houses of Parliament. That was a major achievement!
From there, I was represented by different galleries in London and began to exhibit regularly there, but also in Paris, New York, Venice and Hong Kong.
How do you think your evolution as an artist was at that time?
When I finished my degree, my paintings were more figurative. Then I started developing my own style and everything became more abstract. I started working on movement and dynamics, and delved deeper into the world of nature.
In 2010, when I arrived in London, I started working at the Natural History Museum and was greatly influenced by the collections there. The colors were stunning!
What is it like to build a career as an artist?
Becoming an artist is difficult. It requires personality and being stubborn. It’s a highly competitive field, and turning art into a full-time career is not easy. It’s about believing in what you want to share in terms of message and content.
When you finish your degree, you are an academic artist, but you don’t have a style yet. To be recognized and have an artistic career, you need to have a style that distinguishes you from others.
“Being an artist in residence at IRB Barcelona is a unique opportunity to expand my knowledge of science and interact with talented researchers from very diverse disciplines.”
What is your style? Tell us about your art.
It is abstract. It is inspired by movement, light and nature. There is a lot of science in my work. At first, people are struck by the aesthetics, by all the colors. But then they ask, “What is it about?” And that’s what’s challenging.
At first, I approached my work by observing the colors of rainforest butterflies… vivid colors, which fascinated me. People focus on the primary colors, but among them, there is a whole spectrum that goes unnoticed.
And what about the scientific part?
The movement and dynamics of bird wings have always fascinated me. Birds fly using the force of the air to create lift, and this is achieved through the physical law known as Bernoulli’s Principle. Things that fly generally follow a diagonal path of movement. I delved into the meaning of parallel lines to express that movement, which is reflected in many of my paintings.
How do you think your art has evolved?
There has been a natural evolution in the last 4 or 5 years. In 2019, I landed a month-long artist residency in Shenzhen, China. This city is a technological center. I developed my work with LED lighting and even made an LED light sculpture!
Using LED lighting has been challenging because it has involved technical issues in terms of sockets and mechanisms. I do everything myself.
How is your creative process?
My creative process has changed over time. At first, it was a disciplined process, like a full-time job in the studio. The more I worked, the more my work flowed. It was easy to paint.
Then, when I started selling and having exhibitions, something changed… I asked myself “What now?” My work required me to evolve and, at that moment, the creative process changed. I stepped away from painting and exhibitions to focus on one or two projects a year.
These projects are usually in collaboration with a gallery. In 2021, I held a large solo exhibition in Milan called “Metamorphosis”. It was a retrospective exploration of my work, from painting to working with LED lights.
I did my master’s degree from 2020 to 2022. During that period, I realized that I had to take things to another level… My goals changed. Some people are comfortable being commercial artists, while others, like me, have had a completely different career within contemporary art. I consider myself multidisciplinary and I love collaborating with other people. I want to continually evolve as an artist, work alongside institutions and museums and share my work.
Will your artistic evolution process include anything related to digital art at some point?
I’ve been thinking about this because I’ve processed a lot of images over the last few years through my work in labs. In fact, one of the works that I presented for this IRB Barcelona call was a digital image of bacterial growth and light emission. Additionally, I think that interacting with science could give me the opportunity to create videos with sound.
How do you think technology is influencing artists?
I’ve heard of galleries dedicating space in the metaverse and displaying work there. But I don’t know how it works. I’d like to think there’s a connection between the metaverse and the physical world, and I think things are moving in that direction.
What do you hope to explore at IRB Barcelona? Have you identified the laboratories you want to work with?
Previously, I worked with bacteria and bioluminescence, and I want to explore light further. The research community at IRB Barcelona works a lot with green fluorescent protein (GFP), which is produced by a jellyfish that emits bioluminescence in the green zone of the visible spectrum.
I have been in contact with the Histopathology Laboratory, the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory and groups that work with flies and organoids, they all use GFP but in different ways.
My plan is to work a lot with images and videos, but I will also create something physical.
What do you hope to gain from the experience at IRB Barcelona?
Becoming IRB Barcelona’s artist-in-residence is a unique opportunity to expand my scientific knowledge and interact with talented and inquisitive individuals from different disciplines. This interaction will allow me to take time to reflect, conduct research and develop an ambitious and original new art installation.
I hope the outcome of this residency paves the way for other opportunities. It will surely strengthen my future applications for residencies in scientific institutes.
2023-11-01 01:49:01
#Exploring #Fusion #Art #Science #Conversation #Laura #Benetton #Artist #Residence #IRB #Barcelona
