Patrizio Di Massimo on Painting, Portraiture, and Performance

Patrizio Di Massimo (b. 1983, Jesi) lives and works in London, where he graduated from the Slade School of Art. After early experiments with video, performance, and installation addressing themes like Italian colonialism and orientalism, he has focused on painting. His work centers on portraiture and self-portraiture, often featuring himself and his wife, which he describes as a "performative possibility" allowing him to live parallel lives. His sources range from Bronzino and Velázquez to Otto Dix, Balthus, and Picabia, blending Mannerism, Magic Realism, and New Objectivity. Recent works for the Volcano Extravaganza festival on Stromboli, organized by Fiorucci Art Trust, depict artists, curators, and collectors in conflict, marking his first portraits of existing friends. Di Massimo cites David Hockney's triad of portraiture, landscape, and still life, expressing hope to expand into the latter two genres. He views painting as a means to bring pre-existing images from his consciousness to light.