Prisma Art Prize | Damiano Colombi

Damiano Colombi: “Much of my work happens spontaneously and is not preceded by preparatory studies. In a way, it’s contingent—occurring in a context where action and reaction are in balance. “

by Marco Crispano

How and why did you start your artistic career?

After a lifetime spent drawing for pleasure and inclination, without ever taking it too seriously, I enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts. It was there, thanks to painting, that I learned to love images and to understand their potential..

How did you discover your medium and why did you choose it?

My research, primarily rooted in painting, is constantly shaped by technical discoveries and the resulting calibration of methods, media, and formal solutions. These aspects have evolved over time, but currently most of my work focuses on combining two chemically opposing materials: wax and acrylic paint.
Working on a surface prepared with wax— a material that gives the canvas a soft, organically oily feel— acrylic paint is not absorbed, remaining tactile and on the surface. The paint resists the color, creating opportunities for unexpected interactions and a performative approach to the medium.

Can you tell us about your creative process? How did your work come about? How long does it take you to create a work? When do you know it’s over?

Much of my work happens spontaneously and is not preceded by preparatory studies. In a way, it’s contingent—occurring in a context where action and reaction are in balance. From small-format works on paper to larger pieces on canvas, the goal remains the same: to explore images by testing the fine line between gesture, structure, and the material’s own limits and potential.
Although it’s not a strict rule I follow, I usually start by developing various compositional hypotheses on waxed paper before moving to canvas or panel. Works on paper are to be considered a body of work in their own right, from which some ideas may migrate—fully or in part—onto other formats or media. In this process of interrogating images, each piece inevitably leads to the next, posing a new question, a possible direction or line to follow.
I therefore tend to work in series. I might take just a few days to start and finish a work, limiting the execution to only two distinct interventions on a single piece. But this makes the precise preparation of the workspace and the surface all the more essential. Since much of my work involves liquid acrylic paint applied to a canvas laid flat, long drying times are often necessary.
As I never have a clear “idea” of the final result at any stage of the process, determining when a work is finished is always a pressing matter, requiring careful observation to recognize whether a resolution has been reached—or if it risks being ruined.

Who are your favorite artists? Which ones inspire you?

Favorite artists don’t always coincide with the ones who inspire us, but to answer this question, I’ll mention two who, for me, fall into both categories: Sigmar Polke and Helen Frankenthaler.
What I admire about Sigmar Polke is his ease in experimenting with unusual tools and materials, his alchemist-like approach to studying and composing an image, and his ability to balance meticulous descriptive intentions with uninhibited gestural expression.
Frankenthaler, on the other hand, developed a body of work that—though it may seem entirely driven by compositional freedom—deeply connects abstraction to an initial landscape-based structure. I admire the dialogue she creates and the interdependence she established between color and spatiality.

THE ARTIST