For the past ten years Marco Grassi has been working with a sense of responsibility in his works, always being faithful to the figurative style of his works, never has he allowed this to become an object of fashion or only satisfying a momentary taste
Marco Grassi’s paintings have come a long way from the Italian church premises they were born in some moons ago. At the time the young painter was living next to the San Francesco church in Mariano Comense. The medieval building offered typical high ceiling walls, vaults, the legends of past times and the promises of adventures to come. The environment was conductive to reflection which would only leave a creative mind such as Grassi’s to create. Even though his style has evolved through the years Marco has always stayed true to his subjects: people. Wether they are “his women” as the painter likes to call them, children or men, each of them portrays Marco’s take on his contemporaries. Browsing through his artworks is like experiencing the full range of human emotions as the artist depicts people as “symbols of a culture and a generation”.
Since the late 2010’s Marco found his own signature style. After covering his support with gold leaves he carries on with vivid oils to shape his characters. As he paints glamour and seductive women, it might seem that the artist draws himself closer to Pop art, while at the same time creating timeless figures. “There is a moment when everything becomes too easy and you stop enjoying yourself, so I wanted to make life more complicated for myself”,
Grassi explains. That marked a new step in his process as he started to completely eliminate the sketching phase. The painter thus envisions the final result in his mind before laying the colours on the canvas.
Grassi quickly chose knife as his main technique, enjoying the freedom and spontaneity it allows. Still true to the figurative representation of people he now blurs the lines between figuration and abstractions. Contours and silhouettes blend to the background strengthening the emotional impact of his faces.
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