ENNIO BENAIA

I was born and raised in Rome. Art has always accompanied me, ever since I was a child.

I have always followed my artistic interests in a non-linear path, zigzagging between different creative fields, using my precariousness to create spaces for personal growth. Discovery, experimentation, escapism have been (and still are) the main motivations for my work.

Experimentation is what has helped me grow as an artist, because the creative process is more important to me than the end result. I love to immerse myself in my projects, even if the result is not always perfect.

I have experimented with different artistic techniques over the years, using different materials and media. The period from the late 1990s to the early 2000s is characterised by mixed media works in small and large formats on various media. This is a very experimental phase in which the use of computers and ink-jet printers are the focus of all creative development, which takes the form of computer-processed images printed on cardboard or canvas, treated with acrylic paints.

Influenced by the development of digital technology, in those years I let myself be captivated by photography, to which I united another artistic language dear to me: music. Turning briefly to video art, I create small video sequences in which I also perform the musical parts, playing and processing audio files.

Starting at the end of 2007, I returned to a more traditional pictorial language in the use of acrylic colours on canvas, without moving away from my previous interests in themes and subjects. Since 2010, the desire for simplicity has led me to rediscover the use of pencil, charcoal, graphite and handmade paper, and I have also returned to exploring drawing in abstract and geometric form.