So many “Giocondas”! Edy Gree, born in Poland who keeps Sicily close to her heart, is the visual artist who creates them. A versatile artist, Edy lived in Sicily for many years, devoting herself to research and experimentation.
She tells about places and people, aspirations and inspirations, enchanting us with words.
She radiates the charm of the artist. Her creativity is intrinsic, the expression of flair and brilliance.
Her constant quest for communication and experimentation through art is overwhelming enriched, dulcis in fundo, by her gentle sensibility.
She has always paid attention to her creativity, guiding nurturing and preserving it. In order to achieve this, she has upheld a clear principle: to dare, to rely on her courage and pursue her originality. In this strong belief, that distinguishes her artistic language and continuously reveals new inputs awakening imagination and senses, Sicily has played a decisive role.
The artist Edy Gree, now living in Bergamo, Lombardy, treasures the experience she gained on the Island, a land she describes as warm and welcoming. She calls Sicily “home” and keeps it close to her heart.
EDY GREE
Visual Artist, born in Polonia.
Edy started as a self-taught artist. She officially entered contemporary art in 1996, when she opened an exhibition space in Deruta, Umbria. Her interest in experimentalism emerged from the very beginning with the use of sculpting materials and techniques. She moved to Sicily, initially Catania and then Taormina, where in 2009 she opened an expositive space. Starting from 2013, she further explored the use of non-conventional materials, such as photocatalytic cement.
What is for you creativity?
Creativity is a lifestyle, it is an approach that helps us face every day life as well as adversities. It not only defines how we do things, but it is a way of being, a value in itself, regarded as independence of mind, emancipation from the cage of thought. In my art, in particular, it is represented by a constant urge for innovating techniques, materials and language to convey the concepts that define us, without getting stuck in a boring and tiresome monologue.
We all are susceptible to changing and revising our thoughts.
I try to keep abreast with the times, telling about the human soul and its complexity.
To what extent has Sicily influenced your artistic journey?
The years I spent in Sicily were intense. It was a period of great productivity and very inspirational that has deeply influenced my art.
Amongst public projects and new experimentations in my atelier, I created several collections which anticipated my future works. The research I carried out in Sicily is still inspiring and guiding my art.
When I think of Sicily, I imagine a house. It is a house full of memories and love, human warmth and friendship, experiences and scents. A house where there is always somebody eager to welcome me, as though I had never left.
Sicily is like a house full of memories and love, human warmth and friendship, experiences and scents. A house where there is always somebody eager to welcome me, as though I had never left.
One of your last projects, Monnalisa Experience 2020, is stimulating worldwide interest from private collectors. What is it about?
Monnalisa Experience is my most recent collection, but not the first, realised with digital techniques.
After having worked for several years with materials, the transition to new digital techniques has allowed me to familiarise with a more comprehensible and contemporary language which we can all relate to.
The Gioconda is one of the most famous artwork in the world. Its iconicity can not be mistaken. The Mona Lisa in my collection is a celebrity encompassing in turn familiar elements, such as Mirò’s and Picasso’s paintings, allusions to pop art, superheroes, fairy tales characters and more. It is not about ‘correcting’ a masterpiece, it is about bringing it up to date, using a modern and simple language. We can thus identify ourselves with Mona Lisa, both for her being unique and precious, but also for the sense of mystery ascribed to her in time. Each of us is Mona Lisa, with all our faults, limitations, flairs, wonderful nuances and contrasts enriched by our personalities.
How would you describe yourself?
I am very demanding, both with myself and with other people. It is hard for me to find other adjectives that define myself. I am doubtless a great pain in the neck, quite complicated, but optimistic.
The first lockdown caught us by surprise. It was hard, difficult, traumatic for everybody. How did you deal with it?
Since I live in Bergamo, I fully experienced the emergency. Art kept me company, allowing me to stay connected with the rest of the world that, like me, was forced to stay at home. I tried to remain the person I am, optimistic and combative. I did not allow myself to live passively during that period; undertaking new and purposeful projects. So, while Lombardy was in full lockdown once again, in November I set up an exhibition that is permanently lit, night and day.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
