Luigi Presicce on Painting's Revival and the Italian Complex
In a personal essay, Italian painter Luigi Presicce reflects on the state of painting today, drawing from his experiences organizing the fifth edition of the Simposio di pittura in Calabria and co-running the Scuola di Santa Rosa with artist Francesco Lauretta. He argues that painting is experiencing a golden age precisely because of technological homogenization: as AI and smartphones turn everyone into image-makers, the uncontrollable, manual nature of painting offers a vital escape. Presicce criticizes Italy's conflicted relationship with painting, noting that while international painters are celebrated, Italian painters remain overlooked—he questions when, if ever, an Italian painter will be featured at the Padiglione Italia at the Venice Biennale. He observes that curators and galleries once hostile to painting now embrace it, yet Italian artists have not yet had their moment. The essay blends personal anecdote with broader commentary on art-world economics, the persistence of painting as a medium, and the communal spirit of initiatives like the Simposio and Scuola di Santa Rosa, which prioritize shared creative practice over commercial success.
Key facts
- Luigi Presicce organized the fifth edition of the Simposio di pittura in Calabria.
- The Simposio di pittura is a summer gathering where Presicce personally invites painters to live and work together for three weeks.
- Presicce co-founded the Scuola di Santa Rosa with Francesco Lauretta, a free drawing school held weekly in a bar.
- Presicce argues that painting is experiencing a golden age due to technological homogenization.
- He states that AI and smartphones have turned everyone into photographers and image-makers, making painting's lack of control a strength.
- Presicce criticizes Italy's historical disdain for painting, especially in the 1990s.
- He notes that international painters are celebrated while Italian painters are overlooked.
- Presicce questions when an Italian painter will be featured at the Padiglione Italia at the Venice Biennale.
- He observes that curators and galleries once hostile to painting now embrace it.
- Presicce was born in 1976 in Porto Cesareo, near Lecce, and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Lecce but left without a degree.
- The essay was published on Artribune in August 2023.
Entities
Artists
- Luigi Presicce
- Francesco Lauretta
Institutions
- Simposio di pittura
- Scuola di Santa Rosa
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Lecce
- Padiglione Italia
- Biennale di Venezia
- Artribune
Locations
- Calabria
- Lecce
- Porto Cesareo
- Puglia
- Italy