We recently connected with Enrico Napoletano and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Enrico , thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Yes, of course! I was working at a large multinational company, it was a stage in my life where I absolutely had to become independent, and for that, I needed economic stability. One day, I couldn’t stay there any longer, so I quit my job, betting on art, whatever happened.

At that moment, I walked into an art supply store that was right across the street. There I met a colleague, another crazy one!, who invited me to his art studio just a few meters away from the store. It turned out we became friends, and for a not-so-long period, we painted in his studio. It was a huge experience.

I kept this decision to myself for a few months; nobody in my family knew that instead of going to work at the company, I was going to my friend Gonzalo’s art studio! It was a time when I still lived with my parents, and in the mornings at breakfast, I would show up in my company suit, but I carried all my art supplies, including a change of clothes, in a handbag. I went through this charade of changing and putting on my show all that time.

In my friend’s studio, a friend of Gonzalo’s would sometimes appear; he was like a character from a science fiction movie. He was highly educated, knowledgeable about art, spoke several languages ​​fluently, including French perfectly, knew about laws, was no fool, and yet he lived on the streets. I don’t know more details; the last thing I remember is the scars he showed me on his back; apparently, he had been imprisoned for unjust causes. I don’t know more details, but as you can see, it was something very peculiar and part of the whole story for me. Eventually, after a month or two, I told my mother about my resignation – if I remember correctly – she said I was a little crazy.

Enrico , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

What led me to art was the fact that the activities (occupations) I was dedicated to didn’t fully satisfy my soul. I needed a higher flight, a place where I could spread my wings 360 degrees, a place where I could be absolutely myself, because I felt that inner fire, it ruled me, it urged me to pursue it, to run with it. Therefore, I had to expand, and it was so strong that I had to share my expressive means with music, poetry, drawing, or combine them all into one container.

Well, I work primarily in painting and sculpture, although I’ve also delved into assembling things within the digital medium. But I adore traditional art, expressing myself with my hands above all. Regarding painting, there’s currently very advanced progress within the framework of abstract expressionism. On the other hand, I also develop drawings and figurative paintings. I offer exquisite and delicate work in figurative sculptures that lean more towards the classical, although my abstract expressionist painting also contains classicism, confirmed by Italian art critics, and believe me, that timeless combination, as I’ve been told, enchants me.

My painting is unique; you’ll hardly see anything similar. And I don’t say this out of arrogance, believe me. At the beginning of my career, this was a major problem for me because it caused doubts about my work, about my painting, about whether I was truly an artist or if it was a story I had invented for myself because it just didn’t resemble the other artists who used to do this and that. Mine was different; I felt different, separate, not belonging to groups, which, by the way, I have always been like.

What I desire most from my clients, followers, fans, scholars, critics, etc., is for them to engage with the dialogue that my soul offers them, to embrace its calm narrative, to dare to discover the notion of authenticity because authenticity is one of the most important elements in existence. These are steps that are there to ascend to the highest levels of being. I hope they don’t rush when viewing the work, that they see the details because sometimes it will make them laugh. You don’t have to be an intellectual to appreciate a work, preferably so, but not necessary. Even though it may be slow in its reading, it will give you information, it will even give you joy to see it. And I’ll tell you what’s most relevant behind the scenes, what can heal when appreciated. I’m serious; when I’m emotionally charged, depressed, disgusted by something, heavy, I sit in front of one of them and observe, I let myself be carried away, and it starts to enter me, its nuances, its playfulness, its inventiveness, its narrative, it helps me escape the heaviness I might feel. That’s important because when you have those canvases there, it creates such a divine energy field that it’s like having a hot chocolate on a winter day, especially in the evening. Or for those who don’t like hot chocolate, well, a tea or whatever is pleasant for them. In short, it’s like a candy in your mouth, a delicacy that you savor when a food pleases you, it explodes your senses.

And what I’m proud of in myself is the persistence, the struggle with the titans that reside within me because every human being must battle their own demons and overcome them to free ourselves and be able to fly and thus move forward. If you don’t undertake this task, you won’t be able to show your true face. I’ve worked hard on this because one day I asked myself, “Who am I really? I want to know myself, I want to truly understand myself.” Yes, that’s it because we’re filled with the voices of others, the dreams of others, the opinions of loved ones, of school, of childhood, of a lot of garbage that needs to be cleared away to hear that voice that is almost extinguished within us.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

At first, I believe there isn’t a particular goal because when you’re a true artist, it’s an inner fire that drives you, and it’s something difficult to explain or define. Being a true artist means fully embracing yourself, and this entails courage, strength, vigor, willpower, personality, authenticity, and simplicity, to name a few. Perhaps the mission could be to leave that grain of sand in this world, so that those who come after can gather from me, just as I do from others who have gone before.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

No matter how hard I try to explain the inner and outer struggle one faces to carry out the mission that artists are given in this 3D world, I don’t think I could illustrate even a quarter of its depth.

Let me share a passage from my life: In 2015, I lived in the city of Florence, Italy. At that time, I was awarded the first prize for best sculpture in a contest. Mysteriously, this led me to undergo an exhaustive introspection, both personally and artistically. I don’t know what happened, but after conversing with one of the judges, a question fell upon my being, questioning my entire body of work, my entire journey. The anguish and emptiness that this generated overwhelmed me.

I had lost my footing. I had to deal with it, keep producing, keep contacting galleries and gallery owners. Well, in the midst of that crisis, I had a problem with the owner of a gallery who refused to compensate me for damage to one of my sculptures, which I was told had been broken by a child. At the same time, another gallery was delaying returning my pieces, to the point that I had to go to the owners’ house to get my works back.

My resilience consisted of maintaining mental and spiritual balance to, if not advance, at least keep myself safe. When all this happens, what people don’t know is that there are people behind you, even those who call themselves friends, silently watching you, scrutinizing you, waiting for you to fall so they can throw it in your face that “they were right,” that “being an artist is madness,” that it’s a waste of time, that you’ll live in poverty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://enriconapoletanoart.wixsite.com/enriconapoletanoart/registration
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enriconapoletanoart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enriconapoletanoart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/enrico-napoletano-a57a1026/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fantasticando_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ONIRICO_musica-om3mh
• Other: https://www.elenagolliniartblogger.com/enrico-napoletano/

Image Credits
Enrico Napoletano