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Fabio Zanino

Biography

Fabio Zanino (Turin, Italy 1978) investigates the details that bring us to the universal in an ongoing synecdoche. Like a magnifying glass, he captures elements from everyday life transforming them into images that stand alone in their aesthetics and meaning, elevating the marginal into the worthy.

By observing the effects of time on matter, the traces of human action and the processes of dissolution, Zanino isolates things from their original contexts. By assigning them a new dimension, he investigates the origins of abstract artistic inspiration.

Decostruzioni was born from this research. Word and form abandon their intended purpose and are turned into an aesthetic of becoming. So “Do Not Enter,” “Danger” and other road or warning signs, are broken up into minimal units and compose themselves into sculpture, following the simple framework: objet trouvé – deconstruction – assemblage.

The work of subtraction reaches its essence by using cuts that, as the only gestural intervention, provide a new identity, a different order and alchemy. Estrangement, upon closer inspection, is the sense of a reality revealed.

Fabio Zanino (Turin, Italy 1978) indaga il particolare per approdare all’universale in una continua sineddoche. Come una lente d’ingrandimento, coglie dettagli dalla quotidianità trasformandoli in immagini autosufficienti nel loro significato estetico e contenutistico, nobilitando il dato marginale.

Attraverso l’osservazione degli effetti del tempo sulla materia, delle tracce dell’azione umana e dei processi di dissoluzione, Zanino isola dettagli dal loro contesto assegnandogli una dimensione nuova che indaga le origini dell’ispirazione artistica astratta.

Da questa ricerca nascono le Decostruzioni: parola e forma abbandonano il messaggio originario per assumere un’identità estetica in divenire. Così cartelli di divieto, segnali di pericolo e insegne luminose, si disgregano in unità minime per ricomporsi in opere scultoree secondo lo schema objet trouvé – decostruzione – assemblage. Il lavoro di sottrazione raggiunge la sua essenzialità nell’uso del taglio che, come unico intervento gestuale, riconsegna all’opera una nuova identità, un ordine alchemico differente. Uno straniamento che, a ben guardare, è il senso di una realtà rivelata.

Artist’s statement

Abstract art has always had an important place in my life. And I have continued to pursue it passionately alongside my work in communication. Over the years, my own personal sense of aesthetics has taken form with roots in the concept of travel. I have found new ways of expression through objects discovered randomly “on the road” and decontextualizing their once unique purpose or message.

My research has led to the realisation of a series called Decostruzioni in which the original intent or meaning of things are left behind and become pure shapes. The surfaces of road and warning signs, for example, are cut into small segments and then re-assembled into abstract pieces of art. My practice can be understood through its 3 main phases: objet trouvé > deconstruction > assemblage. The result is a new interpretation of the ancient Japanese technique of kintsugi using common, abandoned materials that has been re-stored.

Another part of my practice looks at the themes of time-man-material. This photographic research takes shape in a series called Contexture in which the effects of time and decay on human artefacts are pointed to and their own aesthetic value is allowed to emerge. The decontextualization of a detail takes its texture to a different dimension, and investigates the origins of inspiration and abstraction in art.

Fabio Zanino

Ho sempre avuto una naturale predilezione per l’arte astratta che coltivo parallelamente al mio lavoro nell’ambito della comunicazione. Ho elaborato con il tempo un’estetica personale che si alimenta nella dimensione del viaggio nella quale riscopro il piacere della decontestualizzazione e della casualità-unicità dell’objet trouvé.

Da questa ricerca nascono le Decostruzioni: la parola abbandona il messaggio originario per assumere forma estetica astratta. Così cartelli di divieto, segnali di pericolo si scompongono in unità minime iconografiche e si ricompongono in opere astratte secondo lo schema: objet trouvé > decostruzione > assemblage. Il risultato è una nuova interpretazione dell’antica tecnica giapponese del kintsugi applicata a materiali trovati o comuni.

Parallelamente ho sviluppato una ricerca fotografica sul tema tempo-uomo-materia con il nome di Contexture. Il sopravvento del tempo sull’azione dell’uomo trasforma la materia permettendo di isolare dettagli di degrado che assumono così valenza estetica. La privazione del contesto assegna alle texture una dimensione nuova che indaga le origini dell’ispirazione artistica astratta.

Fabio Zanino

Publications, Press & Links

“WE’RE NOT ALWAYS FANS OF THE VINTAGE-SIGN-AS-ART LOOK. SOMETIMES IT WORKS, SOMETIMES IT DOESN’T. BUT WE REALLY THINK THESE REMIXED SIGNS BY ITALIAN ARTIST FABIO ZANINO FALL INTO ANOTHER CATEGORY COMPLETELY.
Apartment Therapy

“FABIO ZANINO WORKS ON ORIGINAL SUBJECTS THROUGH AN EPIC GAME OF BREAKING DOWN AND SYNTHESIS OF LANGUAGE AND FORM TO ALTER THE MESSAGE AND PERCEPTION”.
Bizarre Beyond Belief Magazine

“FABIO ZANINO TURNS REMS182’S CANVASES INTO SPACE-OCCUPYING PIECES, WHILE REMS182 HIMSELF DRIVES HIS OWN ART TOWARDS MORE ABSTRACTION, DECONSTRUCTING THE INITIAL MESSAGE OF THEIR ARTWORKS, BUT MAINTAINING THE PERCEPTION OF THE PRIMARY SUBJECT.”
Widewalls

“HOME IS WHERE THE ART… SHOULD BE – ITALIAN ARTIST FABIO ZANINO TAKES OLD ROAD SIGNS, BREAKS THEM APART AND RECONSTRUCTS THEM INTO VISUALLY INTERESTING, GRAPHICALLY PLEASING. HIS WORK IS ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES WITH A TWIST OF HIP AND COOL.”
Ecosalon

“FABIO SUGGEST US HIS NEW ECO-ART PIECES “DECOSTRUZIONI” AND WHEN WE SAW IT…WE JUST SAY “NIIIIIIICE” !”

Recyclart

Relazionésimo Magazine

Fonts In Use – Decostruzione LXVIII – Neon

Frizzifrizzi.it: Your daily source for cool

DESIGN MILK

Outsidersweb – Flat Out: la realtà urbana del collettivo Arterie

PANTONE® CANVAS – DECOSTRUZIONI_Rems182 + Fabio Zanino / Painting

Journal du design – Decostruzioni par Rems 182 et Fabio Zanino

Bright Side – 19 fantastic works of art that brightened up our streets this year

Europe Day – Workshops in Armenia

Weupcycle – Day 862: Neon Assemblage