Stefano Fraone

Grotesque dump between Milan, Barcelona and New York 👹 #grotesque #archeology #decor #inspiration

“They Who dance upon thy grave” 90 x 115 × 3 cm Acrylics on linen #contemporaryart #grotesque #contemporaryartist

Buona domenica Work in progress, acrylics on linen #contemporaryart #art #painting

Mascaron 30 x 40 x 3 cm Acrylics on linen canvas #contemporaryart #mascaron #grotesque

Untitled 40 x 60 x3 cm Acrylics on linen canvas #contemporaryart #grotesque #mascaron

Autumn dump 👺 #grotesque

Grotesque mascarons I found around dump 🗿🌴 #grotesque #mask #mascaron

Untitled 70 x 80 x 3 cm Acrylic and mural paint in linen canvas #grotesque #contemporaryart #stefanofraone #dotpigeon

“Marsyas” The silenus Marsyas, with his face covered in red. He was flayed alive after challenging the god Apollo and losing. A powerful allegory of Hybris, of arrogance. Increasingly relevant in modern times, though. 120 x 160 x 4 cm Acrylic, mural paint on linen canvas #contemporaryart #marsyas #grotesque

"Green Man" The Green Man felt good as the first painting of this new series since it represents the death and rebirth, often tied to the cycle of the seasons (especially spring’s return after winter). Archetype of the unconscious, symbol of the wild inner self and natural instincts. Acrylic and mural paint on cotton canvas 90 x 115 x 3 cm

A few weeks ago I was walking to my usual café for breakfast. I looked up from my phone and couldn’t help but notice the stone face of a lion staring back at me. It was a flash. That lion had always been there, but I had never really paid attention to it. And now that I think about it, I had seen other beasts and figures (some human, some not) scattered throughout the city. I just never stopped to wonder why a building’s gate was guarded by a Medusa, or a face with goat horns, or some aquatic monster. So I started looking into it. What were they? Who made them? What did they represent? And from there, I started to get more and more obsessed. I discovered the “grotesque”, and more specifically, the “grotesque mascheroni”. Their apotropaic meaning, their symbolism, their monstrous shapes immediately captivated me. And even the story of how they were born, or rather, reborn, is incredible. If someone 600 years ago hadn’t randomly stumbled into a crack in the ground, we probably wouldn’t be talking about this today. Because basically, some workers who were doing construction on a hill accidentally entered a few underground chambers and found themselves inside what used to be Nero’s palace. That’s where the word grotesque comes from. From those “grotto”. Everything inside had been perfectly preserved, and the discovery caused such a stir that artists like Raphael, Pinturicchio and Michelangelo wasted no time and immediately climbed down to see the frescoes with their own eyes. They were so struck by what they saw that some of them carved their names into the walls to prove they had been there (basically Renaissance graffiti). From there, they started bringing the grotesque into their work, giving it new life and adapting its symbols to the spirit of their own time. Soon after, the grotesque went viral. Incredible. After working for years with the character in the balaclava, I feel the need to explore different kind of masks and the grotesque fits perfectly to me. In the end, they are still demons meant to be chased away, kept at bay and exorcised. The first photo is the lion I saw on my way to the café. The last slide is a grotesque face from Nero’s palace.

Untitled 80 x 130 x 3 cm Cigarette ashes, mural paint, acrylic on linen #stefanofraone #dotpigeon #contemporaryart