Rossella BLUE: 'Where Does an Artist Draw Inspiration From?'

Venice. No. 4468 - 4472 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

I can tell you exactly what inspired me to create the paintings I am working on now. Between December 2019 and February 2020, I was lucky enough to take three trips to Europe: Venice in December, Paris in January (to see the Francis Bacon show at the Centre Pompidou), and Venice in February for Carnival. Each of these trips gave me much-needed guidance, renewed my creativity, and inspired me to revisit and reinterpret what I refer to as my "number paintings."

Trip No. 1 - Venice, December 2019

Having no set itinerary and finding many places closed due to a recent, devastating acqua alta, my wife and I wandered aimlessly through the city. By pure chance, we passed houses that had previously featured in my "number paintings"—works combining masked figures with architectural details and the matching street numbers found at those addresses.

Tourists are usually captivated by a city surrounded by water and traversed by countless small bridges, but are they aware of all the intricate details adorning its palazzi and modest abodes alike? I had found a new direction—or perhaps an old direction brought into the present. I wanted to create more "number paintings" and continue paying homage to a city that never ceases to amaze me.

Venice. no. 1737 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

If you visit Venice, you will still find all of these architectural details except for this one. Installed during Carnival 2006, it was later removed. I eventually learned that this house, number 1737, had once been used as a mask-making shop—hence the ironic addition of the mask to the sculpted head.

Venice. no.5879 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Venice. no.3666 by Rossella Blue Mocerino

Venice. no.974-B by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Trip No. 2 – Paris, January 2020

If the Venice Carnival had been my primary source of inspiration up to that point, I soon found another muse. Bursting with creativity after visiting the Francis Bacon retrospective at the Centre Pompidou and catching the Magical Paintings exhibition at the Picasso Museum, I began to see Paris in a whole new light. Walking through its streets, I discovered addresses with unique architectural details I felt compelled to turn into "number paintings"—works now inhabited by my Venetian masked figures.

Paris. No. 68 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Paris no. 31 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Paris no. 43 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Trip No. 3 – Venice, Carnevale 2020

If the first trip to Venice in December 2019 had sparked my interest in creating more "number paintings," the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in January 2020 stimulated me beyond expectation. Now, it was time to find inspiration at the 2020 Venice Carnival for my new series. The challenge was that I knew exactly what I was looking for, with no guarantee I would actually find it. But I did.

Venice. no. 4468 - 4472 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Both Francis Bacon and Picasso used the arrow in their work. In this painting the arrow indicates that at number 4468 - 4472 in Venice, there is a plaque on the pavement which gives a historical context to this address. The plaque reads: " Here lived Bartolomeo Meloni Born in 1900 Arrested as "politico" 4.10.1943 Deported Dachau Dead 9.7.1944

Venice. no. 1083 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino

Since 1993, I have attended the Venice Carnival every year—not only for renewed inspiration, but also because one can never take for granted that what exists today will be here tomorrow. This year, however, the final two days of Carnevale were canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. The last masked figure I saw in Piazza San Marco was holding a skull. Little did I know how relentlessly appropriate that image would turn out to be.

Venice. no. 1525 by Rossella BLUE Mocerino