Greco Antonio | Contemporary Artist: Artworks & Biography

Antonio grew up in Vernazza (Les Cinq Terres), on the Italian Riviera. His first contact with art was linked to a church votive (an object of thanks following a wish that has been granted). The bright colours, yellowed by time, of these naïve paintings gave birth to his first artistic emotions. \n Later, the discovery of Van Gogh, Klimt and Picasso surpassed these memories, without, however, ever erasing them. He studied architecture at the University of Florence where his style was strongly influenced by Italian designers Hugo Pratt, Milo Manara and Guido Crepax. The design of the famous Italian agency Superstudio caused him to apply a more fine arts composition in a surrealist style. \n In the 80’s, he put painting aside to devote himself to writing (poetry, prose, short stories), and then the 90’s, Antonio opened a graphic design studio in Prato and then Milan. \n On returning to live in his childhood city, he felt the desire to create using recycled materials. Through these experiments, he questioned the ghosts of the past and developed a new art form. \n His influences are many (Delacroix, Picasso, Modigliani or comics, cinema, childhood drawings). Antonio likes to use various materials that represent life. \n Before beginning a canvas, he leafs through a number of magazines looking for images related to a specific topic. These photos may be simple inspiration or the very basis of his collages. Then comes colour, reworked in pencil in order to modulate the tones. He uses stains, varnishes, plastic resins and glues, which dry and form a material in their own right. \n Art gives Antonio an incomparable sensation of freedom. In his works he expresses the madness of life and transforms his fears into new realities. To him a work of art is never neutral, rather it should immediately communicate a message.