okedoki

Francesco de Molftetta (photo courtesy of WIRED Magazine)

Francesco de Molfetta's art is bold and holds back no punches. When viewing his art, the observer is invited to closely examine his own fate and position in the cultural landscape. Does he transcend and reshape, or remain complacent and numb in a material excessive and sensory overstimulated world? One has to decide because Francesco's art demands an answer.

Francesco’s work is deep and rich in layers. On appearance there is the overt critique on our contaminated society with weak morales. However as you peel back the layers, at the core there is a glimmering light of hope and wisdom. Perhaps Francesco is saying that through all this craziness, that we really can all make it better somehow in the end.

Francesco is a prankster, a by-product of the 80’s and 90’s, he questions the legitimacy of the very society that has shaped his ideology and psyche through humour and irony in his art. Although his creations bares vulnerability, Francesco the Artist is a reserved sentimental individual with a deep appreciation for the world. Through his work, the viewer gains a glimpse into the heart of the artist who has an unabashed love for all things nostalgic, his dogs, everything art, and people who has shaped his reality.

Francesco is an influential figure on the developing art establishment, and an admiration to many aspiring artists. It is with great pleasure I’ve had the opportunity to meet Francesco and learn more of the man who made Barbie fat.

I hope you enjoy the interview with Francesco De Molfetta.

-Okedoki

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O: I admire your work very much, thank you for the interview. You had a show called New Idols at the Don Gallery in Milan last year. Can you tell us more about the show? What were you trying to express?

F: New Idols was a big project at which I was working tough on-it was a series of sculptures in which popular icons were "re-visited" in my way . Icons of my childhood and of my generations' imagery. The idea was to give an "updated" picture of superheroes and cinema stars as to what these could look like nowadays-when reality bites into the aesthetics of faces, and the passing of time has given another look to forms and myths. Much closer to us, much real , much more "humanized" in their imperfections, and in this way, more "friendly". Matteo Donini aka the Don decided to face this exhibition hosting at his gallery the new cycle of works.

O: One unforgettable piece is a very obese Batman titled FATMAN is sitting with an ice cream cone, appearing forlorn and reminiscing about his long lost glory days. Can you share with us more about this particular piece? It's a very large piece at 100 cm tall. How did you go about creating this piece?

Fatman

F: I guess the Fatman is probably my most important sculpture up to this date! IT has been a hell of a work to do, a giant effort and collaboration of 4 people's work for about 6 months-but in the end, when you see it in real life it was definitely worth the wait! I had the idea of making this sculpt for a long time, I started making little scale samples of how I wanted the body to look, and sketched out some details . I thought that this object would have had strength and give a clearer view in a life size format, so that spectators could actually see a "closer to reality" figure, more close to us, and not a stylized cartoon. This in inherent to the fact of "humanizing" the icons, as I was talking to you about before.
I did this piece using a very personal technique using fibreglass, this is using it in postitive like clay or terracotta. Fibreglass is normally done in molds, but as I wanted this to be a unique piece, but I wanted to make it transportable and not so heavy weighted I came along to this new technique. I made the structures' overall dimensions in high density resin blocks and metal net, then I started to layer on fiberglass in excess, and when this had dried up I sanded down to the level and detail I wanted. Very long and tiring work! Then for the head I molded parts of models of batman masks and came up with a good result, and I added a Keaton look-a-like obesed face in epoxy resin. As this was ready, it was prime coated just like a car, and it was painted with synthetic automotive paints, for durability and better elasticity in case of permanent exposure to sunlight sources and other environmental damages such as humidity . Then it was coated with opaque and clear gloss according to the parts of his suit, and the fake ice cream was added too.

O: New Idols was a homage to the 80's. You would have been 11 years old when the 80's came to an end. It obviously have a big impact on your growing up, and influenced your art.

F: Yes that's correct I grew up in 80s Italy. The age of wellness and richness, of aesthetics ,shiny icons and political bribes. Everything seemed so wacky and funky, I have memories of colourful and hypertasty lifestyle and of course it was my childhood, hence my first and most precious memories and that entire era had such a weight in my aesthetical education and sensitivity that in my work it is so clearly visible. I could say that the 80s have given me the greatest hints and contribution to my actual imagery. I get excited whenever I face a reinterpretation of a mythical icon from my childhood, or else whenever I see someone who has made an artwork on a close 80s pop culture theme I get so excited about it that I would want it for me, like a sunken treasure emerged from my childhood dreams. I have interminable chats on 80s memories with a close friend of mine, he is an artist too and we just keep on quoting phrases and figures from the 80s! It's a total pleasure to be tucked into childhood memories!

Etci

snack BAR bie

O: What else has influenced and inspired your art work?

F: I think folk & Kitsch art, disgusting home artisanate and useless chinoiseries, log cabin decors, small/cheap horror film productions , lowbrow street Art, nerd skate fashion, criminal story books and comics, punk rock music and heavy metal lp covers imagery, old improbable forgotten toys and tainted dolls, fast food delis on the highway, dusty old church statues, big truck cabin designs and rare vehicles' bonnets. Pop trash in general I suppose. I think our modern world is full of hints and most inspirations can be found in a scrapyard!

Porci Comodi

2CV

Milka

Silviolo the Eigth Dwarf

DICTATORABBITS

O: What is your educational background and training?

F: As for my educational background , after art high school I took a degree in theatre direction and I began teaching performing arts aside to my artistic career. I made 4 short movies also, with one of these I won an italian festival winning a gold SantAmbrogio statue (like a sort of Oscar statue but with a saint figure) for best movie. That was about the year 2000-2001. Then I dropped off teaching and now I work as an artist full time.

O: Your piece Lourdes Vuitton is a Virgin Mary figure covered in Louis Vuitton logos is one of your most popular and controversial work. Can you tell us more about this piece?

Lourdes Vuitton

F: AH you're right, it has been one of my most popular works indeed! This was made for a very important exhibition in Italy at a museum. The show was the Biennale d'Arte sacra cojntemporanea( literally the biennale of sacred contemporary Art). It has been the most provocative piece in the show, at the opening it made such a big scandal! Newspapers made a big bash on it: it was published literally everywhere, made a big boost on the web , and people wrote to me from all over the world making compliments for the piece!

There were people touring to the exhibition in central Italy just to see this piece! I was really happy about it. It took me 4 months of work to make. Again very tough work! I bought an antique sacred virgin Mary Madonna statue coming from a church, it was quite in bad conditions. I completely sanded her and restored missing parts etc. Then I laid a leather on her like a gown and had it fixed on her wooden body( she's completely made of wood, very heavy piece!). Then I started with the interminable work of painting BY HAND all the monograms! I had to stop from time to time as my hands ached. I had blisters on my fingers for a period too!! It was a long job, and then I sculpted out some detail on her face, and in the end I painted the body parts which had been left out by the gown.

O: You recently visited the United States. What brought you over, and what did you think of America.

F: I went to NYC to see the Comic-con, take a good look around at galleries & co., meet a couple of good friends , have a few wonderful Hamburgers ,and a stroll at dawn in central park. I love the US of course, for us europeans it is so distant but somehow for this reason so fascinating. And it's funny because most people I met were exactly the opposite: Americans dreaming of coming along to Europe ,and especially to Italy, apparently everyone loves this little country! It's very funny...

I know the US have crossed the worst moment of the recession, and this was good-seeing that there is enthusiasm, and new ideas coming up hopefully for a better future!

O: I know talking to fellow artists, the recession has slowed their commissions and projects. How has the recession affected you?

F: Well, I guess the recession has affected nearly every human being on this planet. I have in mind a friend's phrase I liked-he said that recession is the wrong word used, the correct word to use would be that the world is in "change". Changing is always difficult at every level: habits, tastes, surroundings, feelings, contexts etc.
I remember the word "Change" also on the Obama poster by Shepard Fairey!
This recession is forcing us to a big change, especially to conceive the world as it was , now we are forced to reconsider all our certainties.
I surely have been personally affected by the crisis and the recession because various Xlarge scale projects ,and public commissions have faded away due to financial cuts in each sector. So I guess the short term effect on this is I consider very carefully every project I have in mind and make a sort of "survival of the strongest" selection before realizing a new item. and I consider costs very well before diving into a new form. I am making extremely little profit at this time but I need my work to go on.
I have some enthisiasts and friends who sustain my projects and believe strongly in my work despite the recession and this helps me out , but in a way my production is slow at this time, or better not as it is in usual regime.

O: I remember seeing your Canedi and Gundama piece at Toy Art Gallery from an interview with renowned collector Gino Joukars done by Spankystokes. These are amazing pieces, and there is no denying the humour in each piece, although they both address serious political issues. Can you tell us the story behind these two pieces? (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c311/SpankyStokes/Interviews/Toy%20Art%20Gallery/P1150994.jpg).

GUNDAMA

Canedy

F: Yes that 's it! Gino is a super guy, he's a super collector(his toy collection is AMAZING!), he 's a real professional, very collaborative, and does his best in the toy art world to hunt for new young talents and showcase rare and cult toys and sculpts. I think his shows are excellently set up and he has the right sensibility to give the right context to toy art pieces. He is real enthusiastic about my works, fell in love with them and invited me for a collaboration with his TAG gallery in L.A., so we began showing these 2 sculptures the Gundama and the Canedy in a show called "Movers and Shakers". These have been well appreciated despite them being provocative and political, but as I always say to my spectators: don't forget it's always Art, and beauty in aesthetics is always a part of it, so these were cherished for their execution besides the politically ironical status. The Gundam is ironically a white suit robot with a black man inside, and a mighty man-strong and powerful like the president. The irony is in the fact that although he is a warrior, reinforcing troops in Iran, he won a nobel for peace! I liked this contrast about a peaceful man in a fighting robot armour.

And the Canedy is a play word in which J.F. Kennedy is portrayed with a body of a fierce black dog with a menacing spiked collar. "Cane" is the italian/latin word for dog, and funnily enough sounds like a part of his name! I liked to create a new image of an older icon, more towards cartoons and less political.

O: What are some of your future projects and plans? What are things you haven't done yet, and wish to pursue?

F: My next show will be a sculpture group show at Copronason gallery in Santa Monica in January. It's called "Conjoined -in 3D". I'm really fond of Copronason gallery, I've been knowing and following Gary Pressman's fine art pubblishing since way back in the 90s. I think his choices are exactly my idea of contemporary Art, and what represents at best my tastes and iconography.

At this very moment I 'm planning on doing a toy edition. One of my giant sculptures in a small toy format, to give it more access to young collectors and passionates of my work. I am planning new works on the paper that I look forward to do very soon, and I am planning also 2 important shows and and Art fair in India for the new year. I'll have a solo show in London, one at TAG gallery in L.A. at Gino Joukar's "dream" Art toy project gallery space, then in Singapore and Beijing at Yang gallery.

My greatest dream would be one day do a big show at Versailles, like the mighty Murakami and Supergiant Jeff Koons! I'd love to see my work in a baroque antique setting: I love strong contrasts.

O: Looking back the last few years, what have you learn as an artist? Any words of wisdom for aspiring artists out there?

F: Well, this is a good question, and it feels like I'm so in the rush of events that I would have to stop , turn back my head and elaborate what I've learnt . I think that the greatest thing I would suggest to youngsters and aspirants is just to follow their dreams and go for it-just work and work and work. Make mistakes and build up the right form to match to your dreams(or nightmares!). That's exactly what I've learnt, from my mistakes and experiences. I've invested all I had and all my efforts in my BIG dream. I guess that's the only true suggestion to give.

Art is a tough job ,big responsibility and requires a strong passion-it's not for people who build it up for speculation purposes.

O: I know your work is collected worldwide, and has a large following. Are you a collector yourself?

F: Of course I am, but I wouldn't define myself as a "collector". I haven't got the constance and mania of the obsessed collector. I rather buy what I like, what I fall in love with ,and what I can afford! Mainly Art or Art toys, in general things that I'm very attracted to, and things that make me smile. I like to bring close to me forms that I would love to live with, things that have appeal to my sensitivity.
I 've also swapped a lot with other artists friends, who I appreciate and I 'm always open hearted to people who love my work and want to get close to it in their collection. I have a great respect towards art collecting!

O: I would like to thank you again Francesco, and would like to conclude this interview with what we call ' 20 Quickies', here we go!

1. Favorite colour - PINK

2. Pets? My 2 black angels of course! 2 big black dogs which answer the name of BUIO and OMBRA(shadow and darnkness in ital.)

3. 3 items you couldn't live without. a good book , chocolate, a horror movie !

4. Your next life, you will be? a large lazy animal, maybe a feline.

5. In your past life you were? probably Pablo Picasso.

6. Favorite show.movie- Frankenstein Junior of course!!

7. Left or right handed- right handed , left brained.

8. Favorite city - I guess Paris..without the french!

9. You're a billionaire, you would buy: Art , Art, always Art...what else!?

10. What super power would you like to possess? Invisibility.

11. In a time capsule you would put: A sculpture , a stereo , a television set with a dvd player.