ATELIER LIVIA PERTILE
a r t i n m o t i o n t h e c o u r a g e t o s u r p r i s e
+39 3480537810 / +39 3386135193
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P.IVA 04065050249
C.F. PRTLVI68C45G224A
CRITIQUE
Cars, boats, motorboats and aeroplanes: these are the subjects of Livia Pertile's portrait series, which, through their astonishing objectivity, expose the elusive nature of desire, dreams and temptation. By employing advertising and cinematic rhetoric, Pertile captures the present moment in her compositions, characterised by their ostensibly ordinary yet captivating quality. Through these frames, she weaves narratives that reflect the intricacies and profundities of everyday life. These works evoke the passage of time, encapsulating the quotidian life that envelops and challenges us, eliciting a sense of pride and provocation. These visual representations of success and power, the new aesthetics of perfection, are shrouded in mystery, as is the case in all portraits. The artist has created a vibrant gallery of characters, each with its own name, story, and beauty. These characters serve as symbols of luxury and wealth. These characters embody hedonistic pleasure and consumerism, elements that are deeply ingrained in the collective imagination. However, when presented as authentic cult objects, these characters paradoxically contain the bittersweet poison of an existential metaphor, alluding to a concept that remains beyond the realm of perception. It is evident that these paintings, characterised by their vivid and resplendent hues, convey a notion that is immediately apparent yet subtly concealed. The artist from Padua appears to have deliberately employed a pictorial rendering that, while seemingly unremarkable, serves as a medium for the conveyance of ideas that are not immediately perceptible. The crux of the matter lies at the intersection of appearance and reality, in the discernment of that which is shown and that which is concealed, and in the comprehension of whether the object of visual representation is the reality of objects with their symbolic meanings or the metaphor of feelings.The answer to this question would appear to be evident. One perceives cars, boats and planes; one does not perceive desire, dreams and temptation. The former are the objects of crime captured by the painting, the latter are the metaphors of concepts that have no form. At first glance, Livia Pertile's could be the praise and exaltation of luxury, and, going even further, of the desire for luxury, the uncritical celebration called modernity and appearance. The world depicted is one characterised by luxury, abundance of options, designer labels, financial prosperity and material possessions, rather than true fulfilment. This could be the conclusion of the present discussion, but it is precisely from this point that we must initiate our journey, the adventure to which this painting invites us.Therefore, if it is accurate to say that one is a fool for pointing at the moon with a finger and staring at the finger instead of the moon, we must attempt to overthrow the perceptive mechanism and thus consider the existential metaphor as real and the reality shown as apparent.
This approach, it seems, is pivotal in comprehending not the artist's intention, but rather the consequence of a painting that articulates a contemporary idiom with remarkable precision, stylistic refinement, and the capacity to captivate the viewer by eliciting subtle responses to repressed or unresolved questions.
The following discussion will attempt to shed light on the reasons why this phenomenon occurs, and indeed, can be observed in the oeuvre of Livia Pertile. Pertile, an artist by both vocation and destiny, was raised in close proximity to her mother, the renowned painter Titta Rossi. It was within the confines of a 16th-century Palladian tower that Rossi unleashed her imaginative freedom in enigmatic compositions on the borders of the surreal, and who borrowed her father's love of cars, is a painting that fits right in with the current trend of neo-figuration that has been emerging on the international scene for a decade now. It is a return to images that painting has made no longer by isolating itself in a sort of proud enclosure, indifferent to the aggression of other expressive off-media (from performances to installations, from videos to computer art), but by accepting the challenge of modernity that has imposed itself with its languages ranging from advertising to photography, from computers to comics, from television to cinema, from glossy magazines to fashion. This paradigm shift is emblematic of the contemporary era, wherein the conventional paradigm of reality generating images, which were subsequently reproduced, has been superseded by a new dynamic. In this contemporary age, it is the creative individuals who are increasingly becoming the producers of novel images to which reality adapts. Consequently, in this age of images, which, by saturating the retina and the mind, have infiltrated the imagination, the manner in which we inhabit the world is undergoing a transformation. The environment in which we live is no longer natural, but rather artificial, and this shift in environment is accompanied by a change in our perspective.
This paradigm shift has profoundly influenced contemporary metropolitan painting, which has increasingly adopted a 'cross-genre' approach, integrating diverse inputs and tools to enhance its capacity to interpret the contemporary era. This painting, therefore, does not become isolated from the world, nor does it pursue the nostalgia of a lost beauty. Rather, it becomes a witness and interpreter of contemporary reality, targeted by images, by the pressure of consumerism and appearances.
In the current climate of uncertainty, the commercial world exerts a strong influence, reflected in advertisements, window displays, mobile phones and credit cards. At the same time, there are new imperatives in terms of physical perfection, opulence, marketing strategies and the new aesthetics of beauty. Livia Pertile addresses these issues, having attracted national critical attention as early as 1994 when she was invited to the Biennale Giovani in Venice. She brings these elements together in the glossy quality of her works. The artist employs modernity not merely to add her voice to the current discourse, but rather to construct her own ironic and critical perspective, which is both detached and attentive. In this way, she reveals the reverse side of the medal, assuming that is indeed what it is. His intention is not to passively reproduce objects, flaunting an aseptic technical skill, nor to pursue the hyper-realist poetics of the 'truer than true', but rather to reason on perceptive mechanisms, to recount a collective malaise that has the appearance of an unbridled, directionless race, and to confess an individual malaise that stems from time passing too quickly.
In this project, we present a selection of models that serve as psychological portraits, representing luxury, travel, adventure, unbridled fulfilment, desire and temptation. These powerful myths of modernity and progress have long been a source of inspiration for artists, as evidenced by the focus on cars in numerous artistic works. From the futurist Balla's enthusiastic vehicles that celebrated speed, to Sironi's alarmed trucks that captured the essence of industrial suburbs, to the iconic green Bugatti that Tamara de Lempicka never drove, and to the more contemporary experiences as recently documented in the beautiful exhibition 'Drive' organised by the Galleria d'arte moderna in Bologna, to which some of the greatest contemporary artists were called to reflect on the sometimes conflicting and contradictory relationship with technology.
The automobile, a technological prosthesis of the human body, is a valuable asset that can be financed through debt or loans. It is a privilege that is often regarded with enthusiasm and envy. It evokes intense emotions, from desire to frustration, and prompts the profound question: does it serve as a catalyst for freedom, facilitating movement and social interaction (consider the non-verbal communication during brief encounters at traffic lights), or does it act as a barrier, isolating us from relationships?
However, this is not the aspect that interests Livia Pertile, but rather its technological perfection, aesthetic appeal, status symbolism and value as an indicator of social standing.It is noteworthy that her models are not small cars or simple utility vehicles, but luxury cars such as Ferraris, Mercedes, BMWs, SLKs and Porsches. The artist appears to select these vehicles from advertising brochures, where the photographers' expertise, the skilful use of light, the computer-generated settings, and the special paper that enhances the image, collectively showcase the seductive nature of these luxury vehicles, themselves the result of the creativity of renowned designers. Livia Pertile's painting draws on a range of sources, incorporating the unobtrusive and suggestive charm of brochures and the assertive and persuasive impact of billboards. In her unique approach, the Paduan artist combines hyperrealist techniques, used to capture the essence of a moment in a snapshot, with the emphasis on specific objects or details characteristic of Pop Art. Other notable pictorial devices include precisionism, reminiscent of Flemish painting, which captures intricate details such as splashing water with virtuosity, and reflected vision, evident in the interplay of lights, shadows and flashes. The painting reveals not only what is seen, but also what exists elsewhere, through the use of bright, shiny colours, reminiscent of the colouring practised in car factories, almost as if to distance the viewer from the represented object, excluding any emotional involvement. The objective and cold painting technique is cast in an explosive light devoid of sources, which, in personalising these 'special models', at best depersonalises itself. Everything is rendered with an exhibited indifference that competes with the mastery of painting, with a solemn detachment that, in rendering the cars as 'characters', excludes human presence altogether. However, in one painting, two cars, each bearing 'Pertile' number plates (a possible self-portrait), speed in opposite directions and only cross each other briefly, yet the yellow car leaves a lasting impression on the purple car. Titled 'Encounters', this painting stands out as the only one that alludes to the presence of a woman behind the wheel.
This fleeting reflection, the face of a woman absorbed in her thoughts, underscores the shift in focus from mere cars to human narratives, including potential romantic partners, desire, betrayal, hope, and loneliness. It captures the essence of fleeting moments in a fast-paced world where everything seems to happen so quickly that we are left with mere reflections of a state of mind that is both elusive and transient, a state that time may erase but never fully heal. Should this occur once, it is conceivable that it could happen on other occasions when these cars appear to be unoccupied, such as when they are queuing up on the Ponte che non c'รจ (an omen) over the Strait of Messina, or when a Ferrari reflects Asiago, or when Porsches are parked side by side in a temporary car park.
These encounters, overtaking maneuvers, escapes, braking, accelerating, and reflections between cars, serve as human narratives, transforming the cars, depicted in their sleek and alluring sheet metal forms, into metaphors for both women's and men's nudes. This artistic interpretation invites the imagination to weave contrasting or happy stories, such as that of a woman named Mercedes and a man named Martin, the Aston Martin. The artist employs precise symbols of contemporary unquestioned values (luxury and pleasure) and the captivating beauty of cars, meticulously crafting a visual and conceptual mechanism that gives form to temptation and desire. This mechanism highlights the deception inherent in appearances, revealing the perpetual restlessness of existence, seemingly in search of other lost luxuries.
Livia Pertile's work, presented in a glossy paper wrap, offers a critical perspective on contemporary times, personalising a signed life and depersonalising human destiny.This viewpoint is further explored in a dazzling series dedicated to sailing boats and regattas, which offers a perceptive reversal of the finger and the moon. The painting 'Legati nell'anima' (Tied in the Soul) features motorboats gently rocking against the waves at the docks, suggesting a deeper connection between boats and the sea. The bold layouts in this painting, reminiscent of the photographic cuts in 'My Biennial', create a striking visual impact. The sails, in colours that appear unreal, cut through the canvas, playing with the blue of the sky.An unnatural, even artificial light illuminates these marine and regatta scenes, creating a sense of isolation and dreamlike imagery. The artist has gone to sea, recounting the adventures and observing the motorboats resting in front of the illuminated port of Cetara on Capri.These images, too, are the product of an unbridled imagination, yet they are populated by an alienating human presence. These figures, reminiscent of the serial works of American artist Mark Kostabi, are devoid of facial features, age, gender, and even color, absorbed into the boat they inhabit. They symbolize a human existence that is now disoriented, not only by its direction, but by its own essence. They take part in regattas, they let themselves be rocked by the waves in an intimate conversation (see 'You and me'), but it is not known whether they are capable of being aware of what they are doing.
They seem to be specimens of a new breed, closer to dehumanised robots that do what needs to be done (the un-Kantian imperative of advertising resonates: 'Women today can't afford to grow old'), but they don't know why.
These are the new people of luxury and pleasure that Livia Pertile's critical painting points the finger at, almost as an invitation to stop the senseless race and rediscover the meaning of things. The contours of what is hidden behind appearances become clearer, or rather the contours of the very appearances on which contemporary man feeds himself to the point of obesity, and at the same time, behind the modern 'should' that is imposed on us, behind the neon mask of contemporary man, his hidden but real face, his 'being' that reclaims space, begins to be delineated. A space that is free of false truths, of standardising massification, and that each person can seek within themselves, in a different way of relating to others and to things. Thus the cars and boats, those 'special models' that the artist portrays, after seducing the eye, seem to leave the stage and give way to that existential metaphor (individual and collective) made up of desires, dreams, temptations and deceptions. Hence the invitation to take another trip, no longer by car or boat, strictly ultra-luxury, but perhaps by that extraordinary plane that waits for us on the runway at one o'clock in the morning. It is late, of course, but, as Livia Pertile seems to be saying, it is never too late. And so the old Chinese proverb "You can't cover up fire with paper" comes true. Not even with glossy paper.
It may sound like a simple joke, but it is a critical prediction: Livia Pertile will go a long way with these cars. I am convinced of this for two very good reasons: the quality of the painting of this young artist from Padua, who proves that she possesses the expressive medium and the ability to use it according to a precise mental development, i.e. an idea. In short, Livia already has the hand and the mind, the only two weapons that painting can use.
Even the first visual impact of her canvases is indicative of the choice made by the artist: that of a precise, rigorous, minute, punctilious figuration, almost Flemish, one would say, if one were not to say 'hyperrealist'. This is certainly the sphere in which Pertile moves, and her choice takes us back to that American artistic movement whose official date of birth can be fixed at 1964, when the very famous exhibition 'The Painter and the Photo' was presented at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Reflecting on this title, one understands that what underlies this painting is not so much the medium's ability to reproduce reality (in this sense, the Flemish and the confused Magritte were already hyperrealists), but rather the direct confrontation that takes place between painting and photography as possible techniques of mass communication, neither of which, however, can be said to be absolutely neutral.
In the same way that the photographic eye (which in its early stages was modelled on painting) interprets reality, hyperrealism, which goes back to Pop Art, takes the photographic eye as its model for interpreting reality. From this it is clear that the 'relegation' of painting to a realistic and, if you like, academic character, according to that academicism which preceded the Impressionist revolution, only 'apparently' aims at a realistic representation. In other words, the more faithful the painting seems to be to reality, the more it distances itself from it. And this is exactly what Livia Pertile does with mastery. She is currently exploring the theme of cars in nature, with a double and contradictory intention: on the one hand, she depersonalises the image to the point of absolute, almost abstract anonymity; on the other, she 'judges' reality itself with severity and irony.
Thus, the refusal of any participatory and emotional implication towards the realised image, which we might call 'impersonal realism', ends up coinciding with a disturbing and provocative attitude towards reality, that is, with what we might call 'judging realism'. This is what the artist's hand (technical elaboration) and mind (evaluative attitude) do when they force the painting to be 'truer than the truth'.
Lucio Barbera