My art is a form of expression where I blend style, art, and both contemporary and historical trends.
Unique creations made with pencils and coffee. Giovanni Manzoni believes in drawing as a representation of thought, the initial act of every artistic expression: the most congenial because it is a direct and immediately comprehensible portrayal of the subject, while also being personal and unique like one’s own handwriting, a trace of one’s passage. He draws inspiration primarily from the great masters of the 16th century, but also from Mexican muralism, owing to his Peruvian origins and the idea of “enveloping” the viewer. When he discovered Orozko and Rivera, he dreamt of having large walls at his disposal like them. Then came the idea of using coffee, transforming what was once merely food into more than just waste but regenerating it as a useful and necessary material for coloring. Coffee gives body to the drawing, harmonizes it, and lends intensity to the volume. Tea or coffee becomes an irreplaceable component of a painting. As the artist stated in an interview with Jacopo Perfetti: “I like to think that, in addition to the references that are explicit and a never-ending source of inspiration for me in Italian 16th-century art, especially Michelangelo, and references to Pollock’s dripping technique, there is also a bit of Street Art in my work.” What you see indeed reclaims part of that dimension: we are faced with art that is easily understood, with a message that is immediate and direct; it is evocative for all observers, charged with joy and dynamism, and the joy of living in the Michelangelo-like power of bodies and movements. – Michela Ongaretti
