Paolo Gonzato (b. 1957, Busto Arsizio, Italy) lives and works in Milan, Italy. Across a wide range of media – predominantly collages but also sculptures, paintings and installations – Gonzato’s work revolves around a tension between rigour and chaos, realism and symbolism. The impersonal geometry that often characterises his artworks is always balanced by something fragile that reveals a subtle sensitivity. Gonzato’s art explores profound concepts, such as precariousness, deconstruction and time. Apart from his interest in dealing with theoretical notions, he is also attracted to that which surrounds and shapes our everyday lives, from design and fashion to architecture and urban environments. His art is always in dialogue with these other languages; he conceives these practices as something open and fluid and the ‘mashing up’ of them as a significant act. The artist examines the ideas of accumulation, deconstruction and instability, and he does it with sophistication and balance. Gonzato’s works, even the collages or paintings, possess a sculptural and material quality that is due to his interest in exploring the subtle tension between art and design: his artworks are reminiscent of design objects. Similarly, his design objects are reminiscent of artworks, like some lamps that are more poetic than functional in composition. Gonzato combines his recurring coloured and minimal shapes with an eye and precision that reminds one of the creations of some prominent Italian designers, such as Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass.
Portrait: Photo by Nicolò Quaresima
