Silvia De Marchi

Aged and Rain-Worn Paper Composition, 2024 - 'Splendor Vermiglio V'

2023

Silvia De Marchi, born in 1967, is a painter based in Arosio, a small city nestled between Milano and Como in Northern Italy. Her artistic practice draws emotional inspiration from the past, materiality, archaeology, and antiquity. Silvia derives creative influence from mountain landscapes, poetry, music, and cinema. Having studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Como with a specialization in the restoration of paintings on canvas and wood, as well as at the Botticino-Brescia Regional School focusing on frescoes and stone materials, Silvia has a rich background in art restoration. For over two decades, she has worked as a restorer of paintings, frescoes, and stone materials while concurrently pursuing her personal artistic exploration. Silvia has showcased her works in various exhibitions, including the solo exhibition "Merci de ne pas toucher" at the M21 Gallery in Knokke, Belgium in 2021, and group exhibitions across Italy, Europe, and the USA. In her artistic endeavors, Silvia is captivated by the material world. Through decay and weathering, she perceives both the fragility and resilience of matter over time. Her artistic quest delves into the weight of memory within materials, reflecting the transience, fragility, and enduring nature of life and cultural artifacts. Silvia's creative inspiration lies in exploring the interplay of construction and destruction, focusing on the remnants and a poetic interpretation of time, ruins, and fragments. The material itself reveals mysteries and guides her in uncovering hidden narratives. She is intrigued by the viewer's response to weathered surfaces and the communication of physicality and substance over time. Silvia seeks to evoke sensations through imperfect matter, unfinished forms, invisible elements, and excavations into the depth of materials. Central to her artistic ethos is the principle of the Chinese concept of effectiveness, rooted in Buddhist philosophy. This principle emphasizes the ability to cultivate natural transformations in painting, allowing gestures to unfold spontaneously without imposition. Silvia values the harmony with natural rhythms to achieve authentic and effective artistic expression, considering the essence of beauty in painting as embracing naturalness and spontaneity. Through painting, Silvia finds a means to engage with and measure the passage of time in a profound and contemplative manner.