Interview with Francesco Liggieri

q)Please tell us your name and where you practice.

a)Francesco Liggieri, Venice, Italy

q) Why do you make art?

a)I make art because since the beginning I feel the urge to do it, I paint and draw since I was a child and it’s still a great passion to me, it’ll be like this forever.

q) How do you work ?

a)It depends, recently I work on childhood, studying its positive and negative side, the result of those studies are my artworks. However I work on everything that attracts me or is around me, being it public domain or not.

q) What´s your background?

a)I studied economy at high school while I studied artists I liked by myself. When I was 21 I came to live in Venice and attended Art Academy, where I learned a lot, I had the possibility to compare with others and I grew up increasing my art.

q) What role does the artist have in society?

a)I think that an artist should be artist, the role is not important. In my opinion an artist must express himself with complete freedom, not belonging to any “master”, he must be an observer that expresses himself through his artwork, speaking about his times.

q) What was a seminal experience for you ?

a)I was lucky to know many people travelling and through my art way. I think each of those persons and situations has been a basic experience to me, now I’m a more complete man and artist also because of them.

q) Has your practice changed over time ?

a)I believe it’s primary for an artist to change practice in time, I think it’s a positive deal, changing is always positive if you’re not afraid of it. I like to change, to express myself basing on my intents, with different mediums… yes I like it.

q) What art do you most identify with ?

a)As an artist I don’t like to be identified in some way or another, some style or another. However through exhibitions often happened to me to be “classified” as a neo-pop artist or post-pop artist.

q) What´s your strongest memory of your childhood ?

a)It’s fixed in my memory as it was yesterday: on a newspaper at my grandmother’s I draw and painted with chalks on a photography of the “Guernica” by Picasso.

q) What themes do you pursue ?

a)Everything that does surround me, everything that does not, this matters to me.

q) Describe a real life experience that inspired you.

a)I have seen disabled artists painting with their feet or their mouth. Wonderful artworks, I was stupefied, talent is something indomitable.

q) What´s your most embarrassing moment ?

a)When I met Gerhard Richter at the 52° Venice Biennale. Wow! A “sacred monster” and me, was a strong emotion. Great one!

q) What jobs have you done other than being an artist ?

a)Many.

q) What responses have you had to your work ?

a)I was lucky having a public that recognizes me through the artworks I realize. Beautiful. Responses are almost always positive, and I love stop and talk with people attracted from my work, nice talking always start and both parts leave with something more.

q) What do you dislike about the artworld ?

a)I don’t like who fakes interest.

q) What research do you do ?

a)I look for imperfection in a world that looks after perfection.

q) What is your dream project?

a)My dream is to become one of the best artists of my generation.

q) What´s the best piece of advice you have been given ?

a)“Don’t stop, work, don’t listen what’ll be told on you, produce, express yourself as you trust. I was right but they found it out just after many years” Leon Ferrari, an Argentine artist of some importance, told me at one of his exhibitions in Venice.

q) What couldn’t you do without?

a)What I love most, that’s for sure. Painting.

q) What makes you angry?

a)You trust me if I tell you I’m peaceful with the world?

q) What is your worst quality?

a)I never give up, never get to compromise.

q) Dogs or Cats ?

a)Cats.

q) Making art is a lot like being on lsd. Know what I mean ?

a)Yes I know what you mean. But I think it’s many more things, not just like this!

q) What does “ copy” mean to you ?

a)I don’t like copying, I’d rather quote Picasso “I don’t copy, I steal”, I think it’s more correct.

q) What´s your favorite cuss word ?

a)“and you haven’t seen anything yet…” I love this sentence.