WHAT WE ARE SERIES: Child still full of faith Artwork - Limited Edition of 1

Technique: PRINT ON DIBOND, MIRROR, GLOSS PAINT Powerfully provoking a generation consumed by popular culture, Riccardo Schiavon’s pieces are exquisite and generously layered over a variety of mediums. He successfully achieves this stimulus through mischievously involving the viewer in his work. You can find his creations at the ever popular Brick Lane gallery this summer. A series entitled What We Are Upon meeting Riccardo Schiavon I am immediately struck by his youthful and innocent disposition which I find aptly ironic to his works. This charming artist takes me on a tour of the heaving Brick Lane gallery as he leads me towards the basement where I find myself in the electric chair of serial killer Ted Bundy. Fortunately, it is the iconic image I am viewing, figuratively; I am sitting in an electric chair The piece entitled “damn people” uses the iconic image of Ted Bundy; Schiavon explains; it is a screen shot taken from the self titled 2002 film. He digitally processes the image and prints it on dibond which he then paints over with gloss. This piece is a distinctly high level of Pop Art, as Schiavon replaces the face of Bundy with a mirror and instead ones face is reflected through the piece. It is a frightful experience to embody his work but it must be acknowledged that Schiavon’s use of reflection and topicality is absolutely visionary. Schiavon is theatrical in a sense but he is also playful with his selection of mediums and after viewing another piece entitled “Ladies in the Sun”, an image of a women sunbathing by the a pool ( from the iconic Sound Garden “Black Hole Sun” ) I can’t resist the urge to laugh. He can be considered as the modern day Joker of the art scene and to an extent he possesses the genius which is somewhat Warholesque. He explores religion, vanity and mysticism. Seemingly these subjects are intense though he approaches them with a black and sophomoric sense of humour. Schiavons commitment to his art began 2 years ago whilst studying in Milan and his keen eye for Pop Art has graciously arrived in London. His inspirations stem from music videos and iconic photographs selected from the web which is very succinct with the digital age we are currently in but not only does he use popular images; he integrates family photographs into his works which gives the exhibition a tangible honesty and originality; a fair rarity amongst digital artists. Describing the series as a self medicated “cure” and a ventilation for expressions his creations are arresting. With a body of work that is extensive and can be found online on – works include F portraits inspired by high fashion, ADV portraits inspired by fashion advertising and fashion brands and finally TEX WORK which is an exploration of stratification through texture. It comes as no surprise that his upcoming works will feature installations and video. Riccardo Schiavon; an artist unafraid of exploring the digital arts to their fullest extent in the most extraordinary ways. London must look forward to seeing his works -What We Are MELISSA SIGUDO