Before starting her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Cecilia Maran knew very little about the world of printmaking: “I couldn’t have made a better discovery than this. Since I started, I realised that I would have liked to leave a particular mark on the matrices, which would fully define me.”
Cecilia’s experimental approach has, over time, become a fundamental part of her artistic research, which is mainly based on the reinterpretation of particular aspects of the seabed. “It is surprising that, even where it is impossible to think about any kind of life form, there is actually a world waiting to be discovered,” describes the printmaker.
“We often consider the sea and oceans as huge expanses of water, but have we ever really wondered what are the secrets they hide through their depths? Fragile balances govern both the life of these places and, inevitably, the surface ones.” Through her works Cecilia aim to propose a more detailed vision of the abyss, useful to discover the unknown aspects of the seabed. She comments; “Observing the water surface is not enough: you need to make an effort to be curious, in order to immerse yourself in the depths and capture all of its secrets.”
Using engraving, Cecilia reconstructs these places to allow them to be observed and contemplated through different perspectives and sights. Engraved signs and effervescent effects then define the particular seabed’s flora, leading the observer on a journey that aims not only at the contemplation of the work, but also at a process of personal introspection. Reflection and introspection lead the artist through the discovery of new ways to get involved, making them overcome particularly unhappy moments, which are difficult to endure.
During the last two years Cecilia has completed her studies at the Academy and, due to the pandemic that has completely changed everyone’s vital rhythms, continued the elaboration of her artistic research through the language of painting, persevering her experimental approach. In fact, due to the lack of “normal” tools and supports (“and constantly motivated by curiosity, trying not to lose heart”) she began to paint on sheets of glossy photographic paper, using homemade alcohol colours. However, engraving remains the artistic language through which she prefers to express herself, and leads the most curious gazes into unknown depths.
“The engraved sign reveals the gesture and the more or less intense force employed in its creation; the effervescence is the evidence of an almost purely random, free reaction, which reveals extreme respect for the materials used, while the mixing of colours on the paper is the revelation of a reality that is difficult to see. I believe that the observation of the works can lead to a succession of thoughts and sensations, that brings to the rediscovery of oneself, of one’s own depths, even in relation to the environment that surrounds us.”
@ceciliamaran
www.marancecilia.myportfolio.com
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