About Federica Belloli

I would like to say that since I was little I spent my days drawing and coloring non-stop, but that wasn't the case. Observing reality and trying to understand it was my pastime. I was attracted by beauty and creativity in general, so art yes, but also architecture, photography and above all literature. My expressive shyness has led me to cultivate my own personal inner world over the years, made up of books, poetry, movies and art. My formative years at the atelier of the esteemed painter and dear friend Rodolfo Guzzoni directed my artistic path towards a profound exploration of portraiture, an art form with which I tried to capture the essence of a moment, of an emotion or simply a memory. My portraits almost act as windows into the human soul, through which melancholy, loneliness and fragility emerge.

Painting, why? Because It is a deeply moving experience. Because the activity of thought is finally fixed and stopped in a tangible, completely personal form. Cultivating one's creativity is like entering Alice's wonderland, where painting is following a path of upside-down images, where seeing is no longer to look but to feel. I paint because for me it is a sort of abandonment, in which I lose track of time, have a place in my brain to look at the unfolding of a new world, never perceived before. I was driven by a completely selfish physical need, something on which I now totally depend, which almost tastes like enchantment..

I find that this world of ours is now annoyingly high in communication. We feel the need, almost the compulsion, to tell, explain, sometimes shout even the smallest banality. However, this does not protect us from easy misunderstandings. I have the impression that the faster the connection, the more the distances increase... The immediacy of art bridges this gap, clarifies the untranslatable, creates subtle links. It is a stability that reassures, makes us aware of our humanity. My portraits are silent: it is the silence of the body that makes us listen, because even silence has its own noise, after all Nature works wonders in a whisper... 

The realism that accompanies my works is partly figurative and partly magical, I like the childish vision of things, so pure and innocent, full of amazement, wonder and imagination. I love painting childish subjects in communion with their spirit animal. Animals represent Nature, our truest self, from which we cannot disconnect. Nature is our magical, mysterious, instinctive part. Forgetting it would be a serious mistake...

I have an impatient nature, I need to instantly realize what I have in mind. I prefer acrylic colours, which have a short drying time which allows me this. I also love their matte finish, which doesn't hinder the view of the work depending on the angle of the light. I am aware of the power that colors have. I started by painting in black and white, almost whispering. Now I use colors sparingly, few and in large areas, trying to create an unreal, almost metaphysical atmosphere, in contrast with the concreteness and realism of the portrayed subject. I love to always experiment with new techniques, new materials, create contrasts and continually test myself. We are constantly evolving and this change, although sometimes imperceptible, helps us grow and improve.