Having become acquainted with one of her works, thinking that we have come to a certain understanding of the author's ideas, we find ourselves face to face with newly emerging bewilderment and an aesthetic delight from the numerous cultural layers of works. This enchanting mystery remains a recurring leitmotif of the 'Vie Privée' series, presented for the first time to the public in Paris in the art exhibition space and residency La Boulangerie! (supported by rossogranada).
Artist's studio by Riccardo Banfi. Courtesy of the artist.
Using the assemblage and collage technique, Matilde Solbiati combines different visual languages and mediums within one creative process. The conceptual author distinguishes herself with scrupulous work in the selection of individual elements from image archives of various paper media: magazines, documents and books. Images, once available to a wide audience, become, after some manipulations, personal and filled with private connotations.
In her aesthetic experimental laboratory, Matilde Solbiati explores the ‘feminine’ nature of women and their universe through different visions of reality. The female body is at the same time considered as an object/subject that belongs to the category of “real” and is represented as “unreal” (erotic fantasy), which ultimately gives rise to a new meaning. The female image, using the available codes of the real world, becomes a sort of trick — mystically alluring siren of the imaginary world.
Artist's studio. Courtesy of the artist. Dog Lord.
'I wish that my works could be an ironic break from reality, an attempt to evoke the paradoxical nature that distinguishes human beings and their way of living.' Matilde Solbiati for Happening.
With this interview, let's immerse ourselves into the artist’s enchanting universe:
How would you define yourself as an artist? What is your favourite media to work with? And why?
I would define myself as a “reader”. My work is always a response to a stimulus from my surroundings. It is the result of the encounter of my gaze with something, whether it’s an image, a text, an object, or a situation. My favourite art medium are images. To me, images are paradoxical entities, containing enough of the real along with the possibility of overcoming it.
Tell us about your studio as a place of your creative process.
To me having a studio where I can keep my archive (magazines, books, etc.) is fundamental. It is the place where I spend most of my time. It is a very messy place, and it allows me to both create and just hang out. I feel it is a prosthesis of myself. Having a place where you can experiment and even not complete what you started is a great possibility of freedom.
Can you please name two/three artistic movements that have inspired you in the past? Two/three international or national artists that have had an impact on you as an artist?
From writers to directors, their are so many figures that have inspired me with their works! To name a few: Jean-Luc Godard, Hayao Miyazaki, iconographic painting from the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition, Magic Realism in literature (Italo Calvino, Jorge Luis Borges, Kundera) and the list goes on!
Courtesy of the artist and La Boulangerie!/rossogranada
Tell us about the birth of the project — a series of works presented at La Boulangerie! in 2023 (supported by rossogranada), and the idea behind its creation.
The works I presented at La Boulangerie! were created at different moments. I would divide them in three groups: the most recent works (2022-23) are the fibreglass, the resin blocks, and the plastic curtain; then the 12 books 'Agenda dell’Anima' that I started in 2020; and the 5 collages titled 'Maps' from 2016. When Valeria [Valeria Diaz Granada, CEO and founder of La Boulangerie!/rossogranada] showed me some pictures of La Boulangerie! I tried to put together a selection of works that could dialogue with the space. My goal is to try to remove the distance between the work and the place where it is displayed. For example, we were very happy when some visitors, thought the books of 'Agendina dell’Anima' belonged to La Boulangerie!. I focused on two aspects that I think characterise the space: the mirrors and the intimate atmosphere. In the first room the mirrors are in front of each other and our image seems to reflect infinitely in both directions. In reality, the mirrors absorb more and more energy from the light, and the images become increasingly blurred until they disappear. This is why I chose to expose in this room pieces of work that dealt with transparency and at the same time are very explicit (in both senses of the term!).
Courtesy of the artist and La Boulangerie!/rossogranada
Tell us about the significance behind the title of the series of works. Why was it called ‘Vie Privée’?
The title 'Vie Privée' comes from the work exposed in the second room. The big poster, lying on the floor, is an enlarged still from Louis Malle's movie 'Vie privée' that I found in a women's magazine from the 1960s. The choice of this picture has no correlation to the movie, but to how I felt when looking at it. We see a man kissing a woman on her cheek, they both look very happy. There is a certain genuine lightness, a stolen moment of intimacy, but we also perceive that it is something temporary. It is not a work focused on the visual aspect of image composition, but rather a reflection on how to translate what the image conveys into a bodily experience.
What other projects are you currently working on? What about your long-term artistic project ‘Agendina dell’anima’?
I’m working on a graphic novel ( created with scanned photographs and collage) that tells the story of two police officers in a universe called Copepods. The 'Agendina dell’anima' is an ongoing side project that is for me a sort of “freedom zone” where I allow myself to play and experiment with images and words in different ways. My work is an expression of my curiosity. The creative quest allows me to wonder and discover.
'Vie Privée' on display at La Boulangerie!: 25 March – 29 April 2023.
Courtesy of the artist
Cover image: Artist's portrait by Riccardo Banfi. Courtesy of the artist.
Kseniia Klimova
