Angelo Aversa
Born 10 August 1969 in Pozzuoli, Italy
Trained in woodcutting art
at the " Academy of Fine Art" Naples, Italy

TALES FROM ITALY

Angelo Aversa’s woodcuts are transformations from an essential material into an enchanting world inhabited and imagined by the artist. Each print, inspired from what Angelo sees, from what he remembers and from what he envisions, evokes powerful images that speak to the viewer. Nature, the supernatural and humanity are constant forces that intertwine and communicate. The carved figures, often superimposed with graphics, symbolize love, devotion, contemplation, mysticism, fantasy, intimacy, sex and the promise of new life. Some prints have layers of meaning, others are deceptively simple. These are prints that compel the viewer’s full attention, not just a passing glance, and stimulate emotions, memories and imagination.

This exhibition, "Tales from Italy", is a graphic representation of Angelo’s environment and experiences. Recurring themes are The Lovers, Animals and portraits of influential figures in his life. Recognizable icons inhabiting the prints are the port of Pozzuoli, scenes from his home in Ravello, such as the giant pine umbrellaing the domes of the S. Annunziata church, the fountain in the garden of the Villa Rufolo, the cliffs and the Tyrrhenian Sea below, and a peek into his Paris flat revealing past and future dreams of Ravello.

Woodcutting, or xylography as it is more technically known, is an ancient art begun in first-century China and it hit its zenith in the late Middle Ages, most notably through Albrecht Dürer. Later, Paul Gauguin sensualized this artform and the German Expressionists brought an aggressive urbanity to woodcuts. Few young artists today devote their work to this labor-intensive, highly detailed skill. Angelo revitalizes this ancient technique with a modern, sometimes erotic, edginess. His fascination with woodcutting comes from his love and appreciation of wood, its nature, its simplicity, its beauty and the fact that it constantly renews its life. What started out as a tree is shaved into a plane of wood, giving the tree a second purpose and new potential. Indeed, Angelo will often salvage a shelf or a piece of furniture found on the street to carve into it a figurative relief, the tree’s third realization, which is then hand-stamped onto Japanese paper, yet another incarnation of a tree.

Angelo has created over 450 woodcuts and his prints have been collected by people from around the world. His woodcuts are featured in "Repertoire of Italian Engravers, Vol. III", 1998-2000 published by Faenza, "Art Prize ‘98" in Arte magazine, January 1999, published by Mondadori, the Catalogue of Ex Libris "Man and the Third Millenium" international competition, 2000, The Fabio Bertoni IV International Prize Catalogue, 2001, and vogueparis.com, "Un Italian à Paris...", October 2002.

His most recent exhibition was in Paris in October 2002 and he has been selected by the city of Nice, France to exhibit a one-man show in October 2003.

Mary Gallagher
Paris, November 2002