CLAUDIO PARENTELA

PAINTING864CH.89: If you were to categorize or describe the style of your artwork, what would it be and why?

CP: Contemporary freakish art with a touch of punx glamour because naturally I’m a contemporary freakish artist with a touch of punx glamour, no…?

CH.89: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

CP: A list of things, places, people… its really so long. Fashion first, Alexander Wang, Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Martin Margiela, Tom Van Der Borght. Music… Nina Simone, Sara Vaughan, Patty Waters, Peter Kowald, Evan Parker, Genesis P.Orridge, Can,Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Asterix&Robert Crumb. Tons of underground comics… tarots and Kabbalah, Aurobindo & Mère, Osho. All of my beloved books, my cats, my flowers, sounds, my ever changing moods, my laughs, my friends, my nightmares, my dreams, my life.

CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about what your creative thought process is like when starting a new project/ piece of artwork?

CP: It’s a new fantastic adventure every day, a shamanic journey in myself… in colours, in new materials, in other far worlds. I never know what I’ll do when I start my ”artistic day”. I need first, good music yes… my cigarettes… all my useless things all around me. My magazines… o my colours… my glue, my scissors, my colours, my pens, my papers, my wires and cords. And every day by magic everything flows… in my mind, on my hands, on the sheet of paper.

CH.89: Is there anything in particular that you would want people to take from your artwork?

CP: Everyone is free to see what they want in art. In my art, art is like a mirror… of feelings, ideas that speak without words &  talk with the heart.

CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about your lifestyle as an artist and what that is like?

CP: I have drawn and painted since 1995, everyday… all day. It hasn’t been easy for me to arrive to where I’m at today but this is the only way in which I feel myself totally free and alive and the only way for me to be in this crazy and wonderful world. So I start my day with a good coffee and then the artistic adventure starts. I’m doing a lot of photographs lately, I go with my car in search of good and interesting places to do my shots. Generally, looking for places where I can put my weird collages. Then I work again, on them… I love to experiment every day with all… photos, paper, ink, colours.

CH.89: When starting out an artistic task, do you think it is better to have a particular direction/set plan guiding your way?Or, is it better to act on impulse and go from there?

CP: It’s better to celebrate every moment with joy I think. It’s essential for me, only the feelings of the moment make art for me… all the rest is not important.

PAINTING38CH.89: What is one major lesson you’ve learned as an artist thus far?

CP: Art is the best way to talk to the universe, to untie all the knots. To really listen to everything with your heart. Art opens all the closed doors.

CH.89: Do you regard personal style & taste to be of highest importance?

CP: Every artist has a different personal unique essential voice with their personal and unique essential place in the universe. All artists have a wonderful gift to share.

CH.89: What do you consider to be the hardest thing about being an artist?

CP: To be paid for your own art, naturally. It’s so difficult… really difficult.

CH.89: What is one thing you love about being an artist?

CP: Oh, naturally the total freedom… only art can give you this.

CH.89: Is there anyone in particular, any artist’s that inspire you in any way?

CP: No… all artists of this and of other worlds inspire me. Everyone has his special unique wonderful gift to donate to us.

CH.89: What do you think of technology in terms of being a useful tool for artists today?

CP: Oh yes… I use a lot of technology and I create art everyday with technology. I think that technology can open infinite possibilities to art and I find it to be so funny and exciting to create so. Technology helps me to think and to develop new strategies.

CH.89: Do you think being an artist allows you to view the world differently from those who don’t follow creative paths?

CP: I don’t know, I don’t know what others see.

CH.89: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, do you have a favorite city?

CP: Yes, I love traveling. I love Tokyo.

PAINTING2CH.89: Do you have a favorite author or book?

CP: Yes, Pier Paolo Pasolini… his”Poesia in forma di rosa” (1964).

CH.89: Any future goals or plans for your artwork?

CP: Two news shows in the next couple of months, various covers for zines & magazines, some t-shirts, my new tarots deck, interviews and more interviews….

CH.89: What does being an artist mean to you?

CP: To be free, to be true to myself & to always have fun.

CH.89: Any last words on the aesthetic of your artwork?

CP: Pink and green aliens in Rome.

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