Hailing from Milan, the Italian capital of design, Alessandro Paglia has always been fascinated by the sheer elegant simplicity of that most classic of colour combinations, black and white, whether it be in the fine-arts, design, fashion, film or photography. With an education and background in product design and over ten years of experience in that field, Alessandro says “Objects attract me, in particular their aesthetics, textures, materials and volumes. I feel inspired by the stories they tell, their personalities, the ingenuity of their creators, their hidden world. At some point I simply felt that I had to combine these two passions.” The result of this fusion are his exceptional artworks.
Pencil drawings
I have been always fascinated by true-to-life works but at the same time disappointed by the limited variety of subjects and techniques I could see around, tons of oil portraits or landscapes or flowers, ... With an education and background in product design in Milan and ten years of experience in that field, objects attract me, in particular their aesthetics, textures, materials and volumes. I feel inspired by the stories they tell, their personalities, the ingenuity of their creators, their hidden world. At some point I simply felt that I had to combine these two passions into some exciting artworks.
Process
My method is normally not as simple as just reproducing what is seen in life. I select and study my subject carefully, taking it to the studio I distort it, enhance it, submerge it, imbue a solid surface with a liquid finish, I break it or rebuild it by combining it with other objects, ... I then shoot dozens of photos attempting to find that perfect image in terms of composition and contrast of light and shadow. I then draw it with intense pigment colored pencils or black ink pens, many on them for each illustration actually, by superimposing layers of chaotic lines on top of one another, until I achieve the right nuances in even the smallest details.
Subjects
My subjects are often iconic pieces of design history or pop culture. Each of us will be familiar with my subjects and relate to them in our own personal and unique way stemming from our individual experience and memories. However in my work you’ll find these objects subverted and given new context or meaning.
