BATO — Painter, sculptor, printmaker. Rome. Represented by Von Buren Contemporary

PAINTINGS

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Bato with a flickering and sinuous trait, links theanimal world to the human world in an indissoluble way, under the sign of instinct and ruthlessness, moving from analogy to homology, thanks to the free association of forms.
The elegance of the sign and the color scheme, rarefied in warm and brilliant hues and used in an unrealistic way, spread over vast white backgrounds, and accentuate the violence of the subject matter. Despite the sense of apparent immediacy that the paintings communicate, Bato’s creative process includes elaborate studies, sketches and drafts, which allow him to create a balanced,harmonious, and essential composition, as if it were a calculated improvisation that leaves no room to afterthoughts.

L. Grigoletto, in “Jungle” (2018)

SCULPTURES

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If the works on canvas aim at simplifying and emptying the form,
until it is reduced to its outline, the represent its volumetric counterpart,
with obvious cross references.
By comparing the versions of the same compositions
made with different materials, such as wax,
white acrylic resin, bronze, and wrought iron,
we discover new and different cues upon multiple viewings,
as if we were investigating a subject through different lenses.
Here the sign seems to abandon the ethereal nature of the paintings
and become concrete and three-dimensional, while maintaining the same flexibility
and impressionistic character.

Luisa Grigoletto

ETCHING & PRINT

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Bato includes etching in his research,
tracing its lines with the “sugar way”.
The bites on the plate and the calibrated intervention of aquatinte
allow Bato to repropose and enrich the compositions
already elaborated on canvas.

A. Lenzi

PERFORMANCE ART

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Bato’s sculptures take on a different life on the performer’s body and transmute into a mask, supporting Emiliano Pellisari’s choreographic direction and dramaturgy. The light, managed live by Emiliano Pellisari, is a necessary component in completing the performance, as it shapes the image of a large tableau vivant.  The narration takes place inside a space designed by Bato with colored fabrics or strings, which reflect the nuances of his pictorial compositions, creating a new visual landscape on a vertical plane.

Luisa Grigoletto

JAZZ

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The Bato & Smoker’S Hot Club project was born from the encounter between Bato and many jazz bands. The relationship between Bato’s works and the musicians shows itself immediately. Through quick, uncontrolled gestures, a composition of lines and shadows senses and seizes the jazz rhythms in a smoky, elegant improvisation. In sketches of Indian ink and coffee the notes take shape, tracing faces and instruments and capturing in real time the vitality and energy of the musicians’ live performance.

A. Lenzi

NEWS