Mattia Papp

My artistic practice is a fusion of past and present, a harmonious blend of Renaissance and Baroque aesthetics with contemporary themes and new myths of the Western world. To create a truly immersive experience, I employ various techniques, digital mediums, and video installations alongside paintings. Theatricality is an integral part of my practice, a nod to my early childhood experiences, of being captivated by the visual spectacle of theater productions. My main body of work is the ongoing project, Atlantis (2020), which is a testament to my fascination with natural history, mythology, and magic realism. Through my paintings, which are the primary medium of this project, I seek to create a living scenography that invites the audience to contemplate their relationship with time and the forces that shape their lives. The presentation method evokes an archaeological or natural history museum, showcasing textures resembling corals and fossilized marine life. with my work, I contemplate my relationship with time and the forces that shape memories, and perceptions and invite the audience to do the same. Recently, my exploration has led me to work more with porcelain and clay, and I find their unique qualities captivating. Clay has a rhizomatic quality that transcends time, space, cultures, and geography, making it a material that constitutes the very fabric of our collective history, being steeped in mythology and religion, playing a significant role in the creation of humanity in many cultures. Its overall engulfing quality makes it my most prominently used material lately. It allows me to explore this traditional medium's rich layers of meaning and symbolism. Since 2019 I've been drawn to the medium of food incorporating it into my art project in the form of performances that result in what I call “Edible Landscapes”. Food is a medium that brings people together, nourishing all senses simultaneously. My performances often feature triumphant allegories and vanitas, resulting in edible artwork that combines my passion for food with my research of visual harmony as a painter. My food design projects are rooted in Neoplatonic philosophy, where art represents the ideal of a perfect world, and beauty is an expression of harmony and spiritual perfection. My work seeks to provide beauty in a synesthetic way, engaging all the senses and creating a shared experience that transcends boundaries.