Elvio Marchionni - Symbols of the Spirit

Known primarily for his frescoes and references to fifteenth- and fourteenth-century painting, in this work Elvio Marchionni demonstrates his ability to draw inspiration from other sources as well. This bas-relief, in fact, finds its primary model in classical Greek and Roman sculpture. As is typical in the Spello artist's work, however, the source drawn from the past is reworked by his fertile contemporary sensibility, so much so that it can be said that the true subject of Marchionni's artistic production is the very suggestion of antiquity. This bas-relief provides an extraordinary example of this, in the creation of a symbolic, almost visionary composition where the Greek/Roman statue, in the left foreground, is joined by other ancient artifacts, such as an open book. They are all figures that can be traced back to an imaginary world linked to a passion for archaeology and classical philology and, consequently, to fifteenth-century Humanism (as the portico in the background seems to suggest), the main cultural sphere that inspired Marchionni.

This work is extraordinary in demonstrating Marchionni's ability to express the allure of antiquity even in his sculptures. The principle is the same as that behind his famous frescoes: to artfully create an artifact that appears ancient, yet actually embodies an extraordinary contemporary aesthetic sensibility. Thus, this work also resembles an ancient bas-relief, entirely covered in a fascinating patina and with signs of decay masterfully inserted by Marchionni. Paradoxically, however, this ancient artifact offers a composition characterized by a strong metaphysical suggestion, precisely in its classical citation and its atmosphere of silent and timeless enigma. Indeed, Marchionni creates a highly refined conceptual game, inspired precisely by the allure of antiquity, as his "archaeological find" contains within it other "archaeological finds," in a highly complex iconography.

Elvio Marchionni is an artist born in Spello in 1954. His entire artistic research is grounded in the recovery of memories and emotions from the past. His paintings and sculptures appear like fragments of torn frescoes, and references to fifteenth-century Umbrian painting, of which Marchionni is a great connoisseur. His sculptures presuppose a study of Renaissance harmony and proportions and evoke the allure of ancient artifacts. However, this process of recovering memory merges, in Marchionni, with a careful exploration of artistic language in keeping with a contemporary sensibility.

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