Giovanni Spiniello. Traces, memory and tradition

Sculptor, painter, etcher, illustrator, ceramist.
Born on March 5, 1944, in Grottolella (AV), Giovanni Spiniello graduated at the Academy of Art in Neaples and taught life class and visual education at the High School of Art in Avellino.
In the ‘60s he developed a brand-new technique: fossilizzazione oggettuale (object fossilization).
In 1968, he attracted Giorgio Trentin’s attention, who named him for the Venice Biennal.
In 1979, the author was recommended by Enrico Crispolti on the Bolaffi Catalogue with these words: “[…] He effectively renews the incisorial technique through such an impression which is entirely devoted to embrace a wide range of object memories, resulting in an intense lyricism".
Since the ‘60s he has been promoting the importance and the function of art in social life through meetings with and for children. He’s a book illustrator too and offers his advice for the realization of important graphic projects.
From the ‘90s he’s been engaging in a new quest way, his third cycle, involving the re-reading of the rural traditions. He’s re-developed the technique of the old tempera making the colours using the ancient methodology and often pioneering new solutions.
In his current quest way, he renews the fossilizzazione oggettuale through the terraoggettografia and a new chromatism resulting from an anthropological and identity quest.
Giovanni Spiniello addresses the relationship between land and myth, folklore and fairy tale. His particular characteristic is this sincrasy between Tradition (the re-developing of folklore themes) and Innovation (his own techniques). Bard of popular traditions and fairy tales, Spiniello’s importance results from a constant quest and an expressive maturity which is already attained.