Interview with Paola Salomè
Your architectural background undoubtedly informs your artistic practice. How do spatial composition, structure, and material sensitivity from architecture translate into your painted canvases, particularly in terms of rhythm, balance, and visual harmony?
My experience as an Architect primarily emerges in the spatial organization of the canvas and in color balances, thus creating a dynamic and harmonious visual structure. My painting is never chaotic; rather, it follows a well-defined inner rhythm where expressive freedom meets technique, also utilizing negative space to highlight the main subject and thus creating a balance that amplifies the emotional impact of the work.
Nature and the surrounding world are central to your work. In your view, what is the philosophical role of nature in contemporary visual art, and how do you reconcile its organic unpredictability with the constructed, intentional nature of your compositions?
My works are full of vibrant light, to capture and enhance the beauty of the natural world and a great love for life. For me, nature is not a decorative background, but rather an entity with which to establish a wonderful relationship ; every landscape or abstract composition becomes a symbol of life, energy, and joy, thus expressing my love for nature and for the world around us.
Color seems to function as both medium and message in your work. Can you speak to your chromatic philosophy? How do you approach color not only as a formal element but as an emotional language and vehicle for meaning?
My use of color is my direct language because it has the ability to transmit intense sensations, with naturalness and immediacy, thus reaching straight to the viewer's soul. I transform colors into vital energy, and the contrast between warm and cool tones amplifies the emotional impact of the painting, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in a world of sensations. Kandinsky maintained that color had an inner resonance capable of evoking profound emotions, and I am certain of this and use them to reach the heart and mind of the viewer.
In what ways does your concept of 'la gioia di vivere a colori' act as both aesthetic statement and cultural commentary, particularly in a time marked by global instability, digital fatigue, and emotional fragmentation?
In this particular and delicate historical period, with wars close to us, my painting invites reflection, addressing themes such as friendship, love, and peace. Every color, every shape, every brushstroke transforms into a language that speaks of inner well-being, serenity, and positivity. In my works, I don't just use my hands, but above all my heart through emotions and feelings, trying to infect anyone who approaches my works with a sense of optimism and vitality and inviting them to live life fully, brightly, and consciously.
Your works have been displayed in historic architectural venues such as Palazzo Colonna and the Maschio Angioino. How does the dialogue between your vibrant, contemporary canvases and these storied architectural settings influence or transform the viewer's experience of your art?
The two places mentioned, along with Palazzo Borghese in Florence, the Bourbon Military Quarter in Caserta, and Castello Palazzo Rospigliosi in Zagarolo, are some of the oldest historical venues where my works have been exhibited. Here, my art, which deviates from traditional academicism, finds the ideal settings to highlight and appreciate my pictorial language which, by contrasting the antiquity of the places, transmits an intense vital charge.
You've exhibited across Europe, from the Venice Biennale to the Carrousel du Louvre. How has this transnational exposure shaped your artistic vocabulary? Have certain cultural contexts shifted the way you create or perceive your own work?
My works only follow the flow of my imagination and emotions, without being influenced by exhibition contexts. Art thus becomes not only an expressive medium but also a vehicle for inner pacification and a celebration of everyday beauty.
Many critics, including Vittorio Sgarbi, have acknowledged your place within the contemporary Italian art narrative. How do you see yourself within the lineage of Italian visual culture? Do you feel aligned with any particular movements or artists, either past or present?
Many of the most representative art experts have discussed my painting and have associated me with many artistic movements:
- Expressionist impulse; with the use of color to explore the spiritual dimension.
- German masters of the Die Brücke group; breaking with artistic conventions they sought to create a more instinctive painting.
- Aniconic painting; abandonment of traditional forms of representation exploring new creative possibilities.
- Post-naïf; purity of image and simplicity as in the world of fairy tales.
- Informal art; a non-figurative approach and a strong expression of creative freedom.
My art is instinctive, unplanned, and gathers some characteristics from each of these artistic movements, but the message I want to convey with it is the element of primary importance to me. In each canvas, I focus on a specific theme, without adding superfluous elements that could confuse the observer. So, I let myself go to creativity, trying to communicate positive messages and true emotions.
Your work radiates optimism and energy—qualities often absent in contemporary art’s more cerebral or critical modes. Is your commitment to joy and color a form of resistance, a deliberate aesthetic stance, or something more instinctive and autobiographical?
My intention is to communicate directly with the viewer; the use of sharp lines and defined contours contributes to greater visual immediacy, creating an instant and true emotional response in the viewer. To achieve this result, one must not pretend in front of the canvas; one must be oneself if one aims to transmit messages. Through my works, my inner world is perceived.
You describe life as a ‘big canvas.’ How does this metaphor shape your creative ethos? Does each painting represent a chapter in your personal journey, or do you see yourself channeling something more universal through your imagery?
I answer this question with the words of a friend I esteem, Sandro Serradifalco, President of the Effetto Arte Foundation: "Expressive spontaneity is one of the distinguishing features of Paola Salomè's art, an element that gives her works a vitality and freshness that is almost palpable, as if they vibrated with a life of their own. This spontaneity is not simply a technical means, but elevates itself to a creative philosophy: for Salomè, every brushstroke represents a bridge between her inner self and the external world, a liberating and authentic gesture that feeds on the immediacy of emotions to transpose them onto the canvas with intensity and force. Only those who live in deep harmony with their own sensitivity can reach this level of authenticity."
Life is a large blank canvas where we color it with our choices, our ideas, our desires, our fears. The more colors there are, the more fully we will have lived. Whether happily or not, we will see it from the predominant color on our canvas.
As both architect and artist, your practice bridges functionality and emotion, discipline and freedom. How do you personally define timelessness in art, and what do you hope future generations feel when they encounter your work in decades to come?
Thanks to the valuable cataloging work of Prof. Jean-Francois Bachis-Pugliese on my works, a trace will remain over time. Art enthusiasts will find them in the Encyclopedia of Italian Contemporary Art and in the series of Italian Contemporary Art History. My art has an always open relationship with the public because it manages to reach anyone who approaches it. Every work is a wide-open door to a world of emotions, and the feedback I receive demonstrates that spontaneity is the purest vehicle for transmitting universal emotions, which will be felt, experienced, and appreciated forever.
Thank you for reading!
A wonderful world to everyone.
Paola Salomè
