Our world is rapidly evolving, and we are currently in a transitional period, where humans and machines coexist. Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming an integral part of our daily lives, and our digital identities are merging with our physical presence, causing us to question our understanding of ourselves. The prevalence of technology, social media, and constant information overload has led to a unique way of experiencing our era, and that's exactly Vittorio Bonapace's is communicating through his unique artworks.
Vittorio Bonapace, is an independent digital artist hailing from Italy and currently residing in London, who boasts an impressive background in the arts. Having studied Stage and Production Design at the esteemed Rome Academy of Fine Arts, Bonapace honed his craft by working as a Scenic Artist and Painter for several years at the “Opera di Roma” in Rome, where he collaborated with Maurizio Varamo. During his tenure, he specialized in the physical aspects of production, including scenography, sculpting, and carvings. In 2010, Bonapace discovered a newfound passion for software and began experimenting with 3D design. He taught himself how to create in 3D while still working at the theatre and presented his experimental work to his colleagues, who were impressed by the potential it held, and that was only the beginning of what was coming.
'' I grew up surrounded by a lot of museums and having studied Fine Arts, my classical art interest was prominent and what inspires me is to create a bridge and connect our past and our heritage with the digital era of technological advances, we live in today''
Let's dive into Hellenica ( artwork no1) , within this a futuristic scene we find ourselves inside the artists studio we see Michelangelo’s David, this figure of universal recognition stands heroically, surrounded by a majority of other classical statues. Yet, this David in Bonapace's Hellenica work is in a sense incomplete, we see machines surrounding the statue: lasers, screwdrivers, cables and robotic parts come to play in an effort to re-construct David, the symbol of our reality and the way of life as we know it. Hellenica introduces a futuristic perception of life and of course of creating art. By taking another step further down, we understand that Vittorio Bonapace's persistence idea in his work is the co-existence of humanity with machines and it's impact to the way we define our lives.
Crucifixion, in another very interesting and though provoking artwork of his collection ( artwork no 5) . We see the reproduction of a historical religious scene taking place in our modern world. We see the audience, which seems to be everyday people, being on their phones and tablets, distracted by the digital reality they pay little to none attention to the crucifixion happening in front of their eyes. In this artwork we meet once again the signature features of Vittorio, the first one is the cables that are present in his artworks and they represent connections of all the devices we are tied up while implying the disconnection that's also present every time we are digitally connected. The second one is the audio, which is again a prominent element of his works. We hear a combination of electronic contemporary sounds mixed with analogic- retro sounds from the past. The above meets the artist's need and main purpose to blend and connect the past with the present, the old and the contemporary. It sums up the effort to create bridges between our past and our present while commenting on how humanity interacts with technology and machines.
Bonapace's artworks demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate emotions, concerns and ideas in a way that's effortlessly comprehensible to the audience. His main mission is to create art that finds a way to connect with the audience in a stimulating way. For that reason, he will continue to use technology and it’s latest advances, in order to create unique interactive settings of experiencing art, by introducing us, hopefully in the near future, new ways of connecting and understanding art.
Furthermore, the artist has achieved numerous industry awards and exhibited his artwork in Europe, Asia, and America. In 2023, we've seen his work being displayed in prestigious venues such as Grand Palis d'Ephemere in Paris, Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and Sotheby's. He will also have an upcoming exhibit in Space 55 in Seoul in May. Currently, we find the artist is in his studio in Hackney, London, exploring and experimenting with digital media.
''I aim to stimulate people's thoughts regarding technology, artificial intelligence, social media, and society as a whole. My work intends to encourage people to pause and contemplate the direction we are headed as a society, and to seek out positive solutions for improving our way of life''
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