“I think people are afraid to show the world who they really are, how they feel, what they want.”
In a recent conversation with Artzu, Fabrizzi spoke about her meditative relationship with her work, her influences from contemporary and historic artists, and her upcoming collection of works which are to join a series exclusive to the Artzu Gallery.
When one interacts with any mode of personal self-expression, whether it be in the stories you tell of yourself, how one chooses to dress, or in the artworks the artist creates, there lies the temptation to mythologise oneself.
It cannot be understated how important it is for artists to allow themselves to find truthfulness through personal vulnerability. For one to show their vulnerabilities is not an admittance of weakness. Rather, achieving a state of vulnerability, especially in the process of producing artworks, displays an inner acceptance and compassion, allowing the establishment of connection, and reconnection.
This compassion enables a greater understanding of ourselves, of each other and of the worlds we inhabit: our 'inner worlds' and the natural world, from which we often disconnect. Whether one is creating work which exposes one's fear and shame or bringing their vulnerabilities as an observer to a piece of work, by allowing yourself to be emotionally open in your relationship with art gives way to greater identifications of meaning.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” - Brené Brown
Karenina Fabrizzi, an Italian figurative artist based in Barcelona, employs this mode of thought unreservedly throughout her work. Fabrizzi's figures are open vessels, upon which the viewer may imbue their own personal significance. Furthermore, these subjects provoke exploration of less tangible emotive concepts, interacting with otherworldly constructs, legends and lore, nature and humane benevolence. Calling upon expressionist principles and the classical techniques of the Old Masters across her body of work, Fabrizzi analyses temporality and the relationship between the body, the self and nature. In her deftly vulnerable approach, Fabrizzi's mystical statement pieces find a delicate yet unsettling aesthetic which provokes poignant conversations upon journeys of self-exploration.
