Silvio Porzionato

Silvio Porzionato

Silvio Porzionato was born in Italian Piedmont in 1971. After a Fine Arts school education, he works as Chief Designer for an important Italian company while learning photography. After traveling the world, Silvio Porzionato finally decides to settle in his childhood village and devote himself to painting.

In his first exhibition in 2007, he is honored with the Mondadori prize and is selected for the 2011 Venice Biennial.
His consecration comes promptly with several commissions from the Urban Art Museum of Turin and an exceptional 112 paintings acquisition by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicilia in 2013.

Although he borrows the codes and imagery of portraiture, his huge signature portraits break through its limits. Each painting explores and dives into sensations and emotions. Free of any convention, they give their own dreamlike reinterpretation. Some paintings may look like stolen photographs, a snapshot of reality. This is because Silvio Porzionato is also a photographer, he knows of to capture a moment; the fleeting minute that reveals a person’s true self, its joy, solitude or surprise. The expression of life itself.

Silvio Porzionato’s figurative painting is deeply humanistic. His reinvented realism is an attempt to overcome forgiveness, uniformation, and the negation of ‘face-to-face’ distinctive of totalitarian regimes. From a specific face, his model, the artist draws something intemporal and universal. The ‘face-to-face’ mirror effect makes the viewers realize that they are not alone to be alone.

As a photography enthusiast, Silvio Porzionato is deeply aware of the dramatic and intense aspect of monochrome paintings, or chiaroscuro, a technique that focuses on the essential details. His use of strong contrasts between light and dark colors liberates the subject from the distraction of colors. The visual power of black and white enhances the nuances of the skin and offers a sense of authenticity and timelessness. The viewer is taught to go beyond formal contemplation and educate his eye.