The following is a spontaneous dialogue conceived in a theatrical way, where Vincenzo Della Corte embodies the “Past” as a character and Gabriele De Santis the “Future”.

Vincenzo Della Corte: Looking deeper at your work, it seems appropriate to mention Gustav Mahler: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire”. Does this type of spirit animate your research?

Gabriele De Santis: d(^.^)b

VDC: Symbol and language: what type of function do these concepts have in your work?

GDS: (*.*)

VDC: The use of marble, pillars sustained by roller skates, capitals, canvases with skateboard wheels attached. Is this a desecrating attitude towards classicism? Or are they simply “organic connections” or “dialogues”?

GDS: @.@

VDC: On one hand your works are very “clean”, they express an aesthetic strictness, on the other hand , you often use marble, which has a metamorphic quality to it. Is this a consciously dualistic choice?

GDS: #_#

VDC: Your works have a sort of “clinical irony”, always focused, never overflowing. Even the ambiguity is always tame, gentle, inscribed in a circle, viewable – if we look for a visual metaphor – in the “Portrait of a collector seen from ten kilometres distance” by Gino De Dominicis: a point in the middle of a canvas. How determinant is the concept of “balance” and to what extent does it influence your mental and gestural act?

GDS: \(^_^)/

VDC: Your text paintings are among my favorites of your oeuvre, they are effective and at the same time wonderfully synthetic. Taking this investigation a bit further, they appear to me as very classical paintings. What do you think of this interpretation?

GDS: (^_~)

VDC: The following three interventions are linked to the theme: “today’s visual culture”, an important topic in your work. Hashtags, brackets, smiles, thumbs-up…as well as straws, cocktails, roller skates, skate boards etc. I find it fascinating how you melt elements of tradition (pillars, capitals etc) with a rootedness that is being projected towards the present and future. In relation to all of these ideas, was your academic training in some way responsible for this? Also – was living in London in some way a determinant factor?

GDS: =^.^=

VDC: Nowadays a young artist must look at the internet but at the same time be able to keep a certain distance from it. Is there a risk for young artists to be “swallowed” by the internet?

GDS: o_o

VDC: Talking again about the theme “today’s visual culture”, the work “Rosso Gilera 60 1232 – Rosso Guzzi 60 1305” by Alighiero Boetti comes immediately to my mind. In my recent visit to your studio I saw works realized with a biro. What kind of legacy has Alighiero Boetti left?

GDS: U_U

VDC: Could you talk about three established artists that you feel are significant?

GDS: (Y_Y)

VDC: In September 2014 you had a major Solo exhibition in Los Angeles, a place where a lot is happening in relation to contemporary art. How do you consider the Los Angeles art scene? What kind of impression did you get from the city?

GDS: *_*

VDC: What are some of your upcoming projects?

GDS: O ________________o

VDC: A last question: who is Arlecchino?

GDS: ()(°_°)()

Gabriele De Santis (b. 1983) lives and works in Rome.

© Gabriele De Santis, Vincenzo Della Corte, Fisk Frisk magazine