Matteo de Marco

Matteo De Marco is a student in the Master’s programme at the prestigious Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. His distinctive pictorial language creates a unique form of abstraction, both concealing and evoking scenes of streets and monumental buildings that emerge like images from a fading memory.

As for his pictorial language, the tonal atmosphere and softness of transitions are the result of a process involving the accumulation and layering of painterly and graphic interventions. Whether it is a mark or a colour, the work emerges from this process and the theoretical research behind it.

In general, his work begins with drawing – a private practice that he rarely publish or exhibit. The drawings are often accompanied by photos, frequently taken out of focus to create distance from the subject. Starting from this material, he create colour studies in watercolour, and sometimes oil, on scraps of paper or canvas.

The actual artwork comes afterwards. He uses various painting techniques, but he prefers watercolour on paper for small formats and oil for larger formats. Both techniques share a similar process: applying thin layers of colour that give the work depth, build its atmosphere and, above all, satisfy my need for time and contemplation as the piece takes shape.

The colour palette is chosen based on feeling and experience. He juxtaposes, selects, mixes and layers colours while observing how the work develops and considering which tones will achieve the desired depth and atmosphere of the painting. Of course, his technical knowledge of colour also plays a fundamental role.