ARTDISTRICTS REVIEWS l NEWS l ART & MUSEUM GUIDE l MAPS December 2014 - January 2015 WWW.ARTDISTRICTS.COM
FLORIDA
NO. 33
An Interview with Wladimiro Politano After a prolific career that has seen him share the stage with several of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Wladimiro Politano (Italy, 1940) is preparing to inaugurate his upcoming exhibition in Miami entitled “The Syntax of Geometric Art.” The artist received us in his studio/gallery in Wynwood with all the serenity and modesty that characterizes him. There we spoke extensively about his career, motivation and projects. By Anelys Álvarez
Artist Wladimiro Politano with The King, aluminum with granite base, edition of 8, 30” x 22.5” x 19.5.”
Anelys álvarez - During your career you have visited and lived in many different countries, including your native Italy, France, Sweden, Venezuela and the United States. To what extent have these different settings impacted your career as an artist? Wladimiro Politano - My career began in Italy; as a very young child I discovered my inclination towards art. My father was the first to take note of my talent, and he always supported me. Shortly after concluding my studies in painting and architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, I took up residence in Caracas, which became my second home. After that came New York; I visited that city for the first time in 1973, was inspired by what was taking place in the world 34 ARTDISTRICTS l www.artdistricts.com
of art and decided to set up a studio there. I have lived in many places, including Sweden, and I believe they have all influenced my career in one way or another. Italy represents the art of the craft; that is where I acquired the basic technical tools and developed the constant use of investigation and introspection in the creative process. Venezuela in the 1970s, a welcoming, tropical environment, imbued me with the freedom to use vivid colors. New York, a worldwide center for the arts, a very competitive place with a great deal of interaction, impacted me definitively; it marked the beginning of my contemporary work and my own style. Sweden, a country that cultivates functional intelligence and minimalist pul-
chritude, turned me into a devotee of the simplicity and subtle elegance present in my sculptures. Each place I have lived in has left its imprint on my work in some shape or fashion. A.A. - I understand that you had the pleasure of working with several of the most notable artists of the 20th century. Do any of them represent an important reference within your career? W.P. - I became acquainted with many, but I had very close professional ties and friendship with Roy Lichtenstein and Louise Nevelson. I visited Nevelson many times; she was an excellent sculptor with a sense of humor and special understanding of art. We exhibited together in 1981 at the Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Japan, along with Alexander Calder, Mark Rothko and Jasper Johns. In the Latin American context, the work of Jesús Rafael Soto and Carlos CruzDiez are also two referents for me. A.A. - Various phases can be identified in your oeuvre, from periods marked by expressionistic and surrealistic influences to others more oriented towards Cubism and Abstractionism. Do these phases happen consciously or are they spontaneous changes? W.P. - They are spontaneous. I do not predetermine the transition from one stage to another. They result from outside influences or changes in what I wish to explore through art at any given moment. For a time I experimented with Expressionism while I was trying to find myself as an artist. After that, I utilized many surrealistic elements in the drawings I created in the 1970s, because Surrealism allowed me to play with what lies beyond physical reality. Later on came total Abstraction, and I believe that this is where I found my voice, given that I
Wladimiro Politano, Sinergia IX, acrylic on canvas, 79” x 57.”
T’Incoraggio, aluminum with granite base, 23” x 32” x 16.” Photos: Gabriela Garcia D`Alta. Courtesy of Politano Fine Art.
December 2014 - January 2015 35
Wladimiro Politano, Big Red Waves, aluminum with granite base, 21” x 37.5” x 16.5.”
broke all ties with the imitation of reality. Nevertheless, sometimes I revisit prior periods and reincorporate some elements from previous works. I believe artists have this freedom; their oeuvre does not need to follow a lineal path. A.A. - What can you tell us about the creative process and themes? Is Politano more interested in the representation of man and his conflicts or formal experimentation? W.P. - Drawing is where it all starts. The piece can then end up as a painting, turn into a sculpture or continue just being a drawing. I draw all the time, sometimes even without pencil or paper. I draw in my mind, move things around or organize a composition in different ways. Insofar as themes are concerned, I am just as interested in formal experimentation as in everything related to the human being. I have managed to combine both things in representing the human body as a machine. I experiment with volume and other elements while I take apart the human figure in planes. My interest lies also in interpretation with respect to the human being of today. At times my work is very symbolic; the feminine form is one of the symbols I utilize most as a metaphor par excellence for the act of creation. A.A. - Tell us a little about your upcoming exhibition. Where and when will it take place? Will it cover all of the phases of your work or will it concentrate on a specific period? W.P. - The exhibition will open on November 21 at Politano Fine Art, a space we recently opened to showcase my work. In some respects it is a retrospective of work created between 1980 and 2014 in the geometric abstraction style. The show will include acrylics and small- and medium-format sculptures. I also create a 36 ARTDISTRICTS l www.artdistricts.com
lot of monumental sculptures for exterior spaces. Many of them are part of public and private collections around the world. A.A. - Having had such a cosmopolitan career, why did you select Miami for this presentation? How significant is this opportunity for Politano? W.P. - This is not my first exhibition in Miami. However, for me, “The Syntax of Geometric Art” has a different emphasis because it is an extraordinary endeavor of Octavio Politano, my son, who is an art dealer and created Politano Fine Art to fuel my career. In the 1980s, I exhibited at the one-time Metropolitan Museum and Art Center of Coral Gables, at the University of Miami and at the Virginia Miller Gallery. I returned to Miami, and since 2012 my oeuvre has been exhibited at The Americas Collection gallery. For me, effervescent Miami has become what New York was in the 1970s, a very dynamic and creative city. I am fascinated by its cosmopolitan nature and its light and colors, which are so integral to my work.
“The Syntax of Geometric Art” on view at Politano Fine Art from November 21, 2014 to February 21, 2015. The gallery is located at 2750 NW 3rd Avenue, Suite 2. Wynwood Building. Miami’s Wynwood Art District, 33127 | Phone: 786 354 4019 | www. politanofineart.com | www.wladimiropolitano.com | octavio@politanofineart.com. Anelys Álvarez Muñoz is a Miami-based art historian and art critic. She has extensive experience in researching, writing and teaching, with a special focus on Latin American and Cuban art. Alvarez Muñoz is a regular contributor to OnCuba and ArtCronica.