Today we’d like to introduce you to Riccardo Paracchini.
Hi Riccardo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After attending art high school, at the end of the 1980s I began exhibiting my paintings in several private and public galleries. Over the years, my artistic activity expanded to include many works of video art and environmental installations. I have also published several books of poetry and short stories, in particular the epic saga of the “Little Flower.”
My artistic practice is situated within the landscape of contemporary Italian painting, but it is distinguished by a strong grounding in tradition and by a deeply spiritual research.
At present, I mainly work with painting, often intervening on pre-existing images (photographs, advertisements, media), which I transform through the painterly gesture. This process of “transfiguration” is central: figures are altered, sometimes covered or “clothed” in white and placed within essential color fields (especially blue, but also red and pink), taking on a symbolic and contemplative meaning. One project I developed involved transforming images of people into angels.
A distinctive element of my research is the dialogue between the sacred and the contemporary. In my works, angels, Madonnas, and religious figures frequently appear, often derived from modern images, with the aim of questioning the persistence of the sacred in the present and the possibility that it may continue to speak to contemporary humanity.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The greatest difficulty is the lack of understanding of the work and of the artistic research, particularly on the part of art galleries. Artists, on the other hand, are more advanced.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I mentioned earlier, my artistic work is centered on relationships, dialogue, and growth, through an ancient medium such as painting. One project that is particularly meaningful to me was with prisoners. I entered a prison to create works together with the people detained there. The theme I chose was that of the flower, a simple yet deeply symbolic element.
“Flowers from Prison” was a project in which art leaves its traditional space (gallery or museum) to enter a marginal place, transforming into a shared, symbolic, and spiritual experience, where the flower becomes a metaphor for humanity and the possibility of rebirth even in difficult conditions.
When I proposed this theme, I thought the prisoners would not respond well, that they might mock me. Instead, they immediately understood the message, and despite some initial difficulties, they created beautiful paintings. I also made several paintings of flowers, because they are a metaphor for our humanity.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was little and saw things as a child.
Pricing:
- 20×30 cm = 700$
- 30×40 cm = 900$
- 40×50 cm = 1200$
- 80×120 cm = 2600$
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.riccardoparacchini.it
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paracchini/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rparacchini/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RiccardoParacchini
Image Credits
The photos are mine
