Griffa and Vascellari on Instinct vs. Intellect in Art

In an interview for Artribune's Versus series, artists Giorgio Griffa and Nico Vascellari discuss the interplay between instinct and intellect in their creative processes. Griffa describes his practice as a slow, meditative act of painting, seeking to forget himself with each mark, rejecting both action painting and conceptual art. Vascellari emphasizes that nothing is automatic; intuition arises outside the studio, and the creative process is continuous without clear beginnings or ends. Both artists downplay the role of planning, though Vascellari clarifies that his large-scale projects, such as those at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and MAXXI in Rome, require up to a year of gestation. They agree that the artist acts as a catalyst, but reject the notion of chance as a key factor. Griffa compares artistic unity to Zen discipline, citing Mondrian as both rational and lyrical. The conversation was conducted by Vincenzo Merola.