Luigi Carriero: the secret balance between form, matter, and vision

An art that arises from chance and subtraction

Luigi Carriero is an artist who seems to move lightly in the world of painting, but behind his playful approach lies a refined and profound research process. Born in Gallipoli in 1981, Carriero is self-taught and his work stems from a spontaneous interaction with the mark, where forms emerge by chance and are defined through a process of subtraction. The artist often starts from instinctive sketches on the canvas, allowing pareidolia – the human ability to recognize faces and figures in random marks – to guide his creative path. The result is a visual universe where lines and colors play with the viewer's perception, inviting them to actively participate in the reading of the work.

Between figuration and abstraction, a balance in motion

Carriero constructs a fluid visual language that oscillates between abstraction and figuration, never crystallizing into a rigid definition. Female portraits, animals, and hybrid forms populate her canvases, often characterized by an essential stroke and a vibrant color palette that recalls pop aesthetics and the expressive freedom of Art Brut. Her works seem to tell suspended stories, fragments of an imaginary that never fully reveals itself, leaving room for interpretation. The simplification of form is at the heart of her poetics: removing the superfluous to reveal the essence of an image, just as in the typical synthesis process of contemporary design and graphics.

Influences and contaminations between art, music, and fashion

Although not belonging to a specific school or movement, Carriero's work is influenced by multiple sources. The artist absorbs inspirations from cinema, fashion, and music, creating a dialogue between different disciplines. The aesthetics of street art and advertising graphics emerge in his compositions, while the irony of some subjects recalls the apparent lightness of certain works by Keith Haring or Jean-Michel Basquiat. Color takes center stage, evoking the visual energy of David Hockney or the chromatic experiments of Alex Katz. However, beyond the influences, he maintains an autonomous language, building a personal aesthetic that never succumbs to homogenization.

The invitation to see beyond the surface

Luigi Carriero's works are not simple images to be passively observed, but visual devices that stimulate active interaction. The perception of the subject changes depending on the point of view, angle, and mood of the viewer. There is always an element of surprise, a form that suddenly emerges, a face that appears where there seemed to be only an abstract line. This transformative ability makes his work dynamic, open, capable of engaging with a wide audience without losing its authenticity.

#1 answer
Your creative process seems very instinctual, when do you feel that a work is finished?
My creative process is intentionally based on chance, I draw many lines with a pencil or already with oil pastels, paying attention to the figures but more to the overall balance. Then I observe. A lot. I observe for a long time in search of shapes and ideas come on their own, "they come out already with words." Feeling and deciding that the work is completed is not simple, feeling is something emotional, automatic, deciding requires more intellect, the rational part. Of course, we can make choices dictated by impulses but often those are the comfortable and/or wrong ones. Balancing reason and emotions is not easy. Sometimes we continue in an attempt to achieve what is for us an idea of perfection but personally stopping is really an exercise in acceptance and at the same time in growth. A single work is just a piece of a journey. We are limited in time, we finish and start again. Also, often, if I don't set a limit, I get the opposite effect of moving away from what I wanted to say and the work loses spontaneity and authenticity.

#2 answer
Your works seem to move on a thin line between recognizable and indefinite, as if figuration were an echo within abstraction. Has there ever been a moment when you felt the need to lean completely towards one or the other?
I do not feel a strong need to lean towards the recognizable or the indefinite because I feel both needs cyclically even in the development of a single work. One does not exclude the other and everything is in continuous evolution. In general, I like less precise and clean works, so I am more inclined to finish this "cycle" tending towards the indefinite, but always with a bit of control because otherwise, instead of conscious expression, it would be mere outburst.

#3 answer
In your work, it's as if the colors are not simply chosen, but found in the process. Is there an emotion or rhythm that guides your color choices?
More than individual colors, I give more importance to tones and warmth, but even in the choice of colors there is an aspect of randomness, I also try and retry colors. This aspect of correction and error is motivating. There is always something to learn and discover. I often like to overlap different layers of color, leaving incomplete portions to bring out the underlying tones, it reminds me of certain walls in my Salento, worn by time. Yes, I believe that colors can give rhythm. I think that painting has a lot in common with music if we understand that ideas, colors, and shapes are linked like melody, harmony, and tempo.

#4 answer
Observing your paintings, removing seems to be a revealing act rather than a simplification. Is it a process you follow methodically or does the canvas suggest to you what should remain?
I tend to cover lines and strokes a lot and erase, or leave empty spaces for rest. It's not about making the right stroke but about bringing out something I see or am interested in. It's a fun search. It reflects who I am and is also an exercise in observation and patient listening.

#5 answer
Art, music, and cinema are part of your imagination. Is there an artist, musician, or designer who has particularly influenced your vision?
Clearly, there isn't a single artist who has inspired me, each of us is the result of what we live and absorb and is therefore influenced by dozens of other artists, even unconsciously. That said, those who have certainly left a mark on me are, in no particular order: Thelonious Monk, Woody Allen, Thom Yorke, Francis Bacon, David Bowie, Franco Battiato, Goya, Claudio Cecchetto, David Lynch, Francesco De Gregori, Ibrahim Ferrer, Giorgio Frassica, Robert Zemeckis, Nirvana, Chet Baker, Renzo Arbore, Joan Miró, The Beatles, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, J.M.W. Turner, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I like the fact that they are not only artists in the field of visual arts because it shows that art expresses itself and connects in different forms that intersect and remix. Art is authenticity and I believe all the artists I mentioned are authentic. However, I think the artist who has influenced me the most is Thelonious Monk for his love of new, unexpected solutions, for the patient use of silence, and for the relevance he gives to time. He has certainly had a reflection on my work.

#6 answer
Your works invite the viewer to a visual game, almost a hunt for hidden shapes. Does this playful element arise from the creative process or is it a way to leave room for the interpretation of the viewer?
What is hidden arouses curiosity and invites play. Observing for a long time in search of shapes and figures is first and foremost a game and a surprise for me as I see a new image forming before my eyes, but it can certainly be a game for those who, curious, want to have fun observing my works and maybe share my same spirit. For example, I like symbols and allegories in works because they refer to ideas, thoughts, or stories of the author but also evoke thoughts and stories of the observer creating connections.

#7 answer
If you could choose just one word to describe the atmosphere you want to evoke in your work, what would it be?
Unexpected. I believe this adjective best encapsulates my imprint because it includes in a certain way elements of randomness, play, and change, which are part of me and my work. My creative process is evolving with me, and I am starting to feel like telling imaginary or surreal stories with symbols and allegories. However, I think this aspect, the unexpected, will remain with me. We'll see.

#8 answer
We are almost at the end of the interview, in the editorial office we are all passionate about music and it is one of the artistic languages that we privilege, would you like to tell us three tracks that you are particularly attached to? Thank you.
As I was browsing the portal, I noticed that you love music. I don't want to say good music because when it comes to musical tastes, they are not different from culinary tastes; everyone has their own. Some eat everything, some eat a little of everything, others don't like vegetables or avoid meat. It hurts me to choose only three, but, within my tastes, today fate has decided on these: Monk’s Mood - Thelonious Monk (Underground), Ma come fanno i marinai - (Banana Republic), Pyramid song - (Kid A).