Conversation with Fabrizio Paperini

The first encounter I had with a work that marked a deep path in my journey through the art world was in Bagheria in 1999, visiting an exhibition by Salvatore Scarpitta at the Civic Gallery. At that time, I was attending university in Pisa under the guidance of a great master, Professor Fabrizio D’Amico; we were studying post-war art in Rome, so I had already come to know, albeit somewhat superficially, the work of Salvatore Scarpitta. During the visit in Bagheria, I came across a painting titled “On the Edge and Beyond”, dated 1956; for me, it was a striking moment to see in person a concrete passage from painting to the slow and inexorable emergence beyond the canvas itself. A slight outward bulge seemed to lead to the tensions that would soon arrive in Salvatore’s art with the series of “Extramural” and “Untitled” works starting from 1958.

In 2005, I had the opportunity to meet Salvatore in Milan. I remember his proud and penetrating gaze, his firm voice, and his gestures reminiscent of an Indian chief. We talked about many things. I specifically recall our discussion about the ‘Feral Runners’ series: how the idea to create them was born, the relationship between human aggression compared to animal aggression, and his return to painting using bitumen and enamels. We lingered on his great passion for cars and speed; it was a delight to listen to him. He spoke of his youthful sketches reproducing those early shining racing cars, the sequence of tributes to his modern speed heroes: from Ernie Triplett to Harry Hartz, from Frank Lockhart to Rajo Jack.

This passion, taken to the extreme on the dirty tracks of remote American counties where a single fatal mistake could mean death, the tension and force of life still shone in the eyes of the giant Sal. Just this year, we had the pleasure of hosting some works by Salvatore Scarpitta at the spaces of Galleria Continua in San Gimignano. For me, it was a great satisfaction to see Salvatore’s works in dialogue with the sculptures of the internationally renowned artist Berlinde De Bruyckere and a series of ancient artworks within the program titled ‘Evergreen.’ The artist invited to participate in the first edition of Evergreen is Berlinde De Bruyckere. Thanks to the collaboration with the Bacarelli-Botticelli, Robilant Voena, and Montrasio Arte galleries, the Belgian artist’s sculptures meet in the halls of Galleria Continua the paintings of Francesco Botti (Florence, 1645 – 1711), Piero Dandini (Florence, 1646 – 1712), Johann Karl Loth (Munich, 1632 – Venice, 1698), Onorio Marinari (Florence, 1627–1716), Giuseppe Petrini (Carona, 1677 – 1755/9), and a body of works from the 1960s by the artist Salvatore Scarpitta (New York, 1919 – 2007).