Modern Conversations with the Past that become Contemporary Masterpieces
Cristina Corvino and her fascinating creation “Conservative Art” ®
By Miguel Bermudez
Artist: Cristina Corvino
Title: Emancipazione (Emancipation)
Series: Macchine del Tempo (Time machines)
Style: Arte Consevativa ® (Registered Trademark)
Dimensions: 130 x 160 cm (51.18″ x 62.99″)
Technic: Oil on panel and mixed media
Year: 2019
Walking into one of Cristina Corvino’s architectural works in the beautiful city of Turin, Italy, we feel a mélange of art, history, the creative process and the humanity that comes from being exposed to art. Cristina became interested in art as a child. She is a product of one of those wonderful stories in which a series of events pointed her towards a path that involved her many passions and she was encouraged by her parents in her pursuits. Cristina loves art and has embraced its many forms of expression, be it theater, design, colors, materials, etc.
She demonstrated early signs of independence by developing a small following for her creations. In the interview that follows, we will hear her describe her beginnings, her approach to art and creation and her hope for the future.
It is the unique blending of forgotten, neglected and overlooked paintings juxtaposed with relevant, modern and significant treatments that are fascinating. In her work, a message of hope underlies messages of continued struggle against forms of domination and inequality. Christina’s works become modern and transcendent through her masterful usage of scientific and artisanal treatments together with the careful consideration of heritage.
Cristina Corvino is an artist with many talents. She has restored and brought back to life many neglected properties that are found in the historical center of Turin. She has been successful in fashion, theater, and is a licensed and recognized restorer of frescoes, sculptures, paintings, and historical buildings. She is an accomplished teacher that had the good fortune to encounter not only learned and wise teachers through her studies but also true mentors. In the creations that we discuss here, she explores the complex issues of women and their roles and their interactions with society, time, animals, and nature. She explores these interactions historically and connects them to the present. A conversation takes place between women of antiquity and the viewer of the piece that causes the viewer to reflect. It is a brilliant way to tell us that the human being that was depicted hundreds of years ago is questioning us and encouraging us to fight to keep searching for truth.
CRISTINA CORVINO with the artwork Emancipazione. SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH CRISTINA CORVINO By Miguel Bermudez. Art Market Magazine July Issue #44
SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH
CRISTINA CORVINO
By Miguel Bermudez
MEB3: What are the origins of your interest in art in general?
Christina Corvino (CC): Since I was a child, I have felt the interest in creativity, colors, and nature growing in me which matured and becoming a true passion for art and beauty.
I attended short courses, bought newspapers, books, and manuals that described various artistic techniques for modeling and painting on various materials such as fabric, ceramics, glass, etc. I produced small artifacts and had a fair number of buyers and admirers which allowed me a guaranteed small economic independence from my parents.
My parents always supported my choices.
MEB3: When whom and how were you exposed to this magical world of art?
CC: I chose to attend the Liceo Artistico, architecture section, in a period in which public opinion considered this school to be unreliable and with little prospects for a career, but I could not do anything else, my heart brought me there.
Contrary to the prevailing opinion, I had the good fortune to meet real artists who had dedicated themselves to the profession of teacher, becoming excellent teachers of life, capable of grasping my abilities, giving me the opportunity to learn classical techniques but also to experiment with various forms of art.
I still remember with nostalgia the afternoons spent in the high school workshops to complete drawings, sculptures, and projects.
Cristina Corvino.
Emancipazione (Emancipation) Details.
MEB3: You trained as an architect which you still do as your principal career. Could you describe your approach to your architectural works and the philosophy behind it?
CC: Having been born and raised in Turin, a royal city and part of Savoy and the former capital of Italy was fortunate. It is full of important historic buildings, museums, art galleries, etc … The charm of ancient architecture and the period details it contains aroused in me the desire to undertake university studies oriented towards specialization in the field of restoration with the future goal of working for the enhancement of the Italian historical and artistic heritage.
Today the work of the architect and restoration and protection of cultural heritage elements is very arduous and demanding. It has become a real mission and the satisfaction in reviving an ancient artifact, a historical-artistic building or part of it is worth all of the effort.
I believe that architecture should be understood as a “Unicom” that is a set of arts concentrated in a place to harmonize together. For this, it is necessary that the professional architect possesses the right preparation and knowledge to perform conservation and know how to recognize hidden treasures that our ancestors left to us.
MEB3: What made it important for you to educate yourself about the conservation and renovation of buildings, paintings, frescoes, and sculptures?
CC: I believe that ancient works of art can have a long life if they meet people capable of recognizing their value by restoring them properly. If not, the fragility of the work can dominate, leading to the disappearance of entire assets. In Italy, we live in an open-air museum, surrounded by sculptures, architecture, paintings, etc., but much of this heritage is still left in the warehouses and basements of museums due to lack of funds, initiatives and the will to believe in the great potential of the cultural system.
In this sense, sometimes the lack of awareness leads to indifference and abandonment, spreading a social culture contrary to what should exist in a country like ours. The educational world has the responsibility, the task and the possibility of changing people’s thinking.
Artist: Cristina Corvino
Title: Creazione (Creation)
Series: Macchine del Tempo (Time machines)
Style: Arte Consevativa ® (Registered Trademark)
Dimensions: 140 x 160 cm (55.18″ x 62.99″)
Technic: Oil on panel and mixed media
Year: 2019
MEB3: Not only did you learn about restoration techniques, but you also decided to share your knowledge with the new generation by becoming a teacher; how do you see the enthusiasm and interest in this field for the younger generations?
CC: After years of experience, finding ways of transmitting knowledge to share one’s work with new generations is very important to complete a path of enrichment and professional completeness that would otherwise remain sterile and confined to one’s own study.
In this sense, the experience of teaching closes a circle as any work starts with learning from a teacher and one should conclude with the transmission of one’s knowledge to the new generations because the latter represents our future. They, in turn, will be able to repeat, enrich and transmit.
The construction of the schoolyard during the restoration of some historic buildings proved to be very positive as some students appreciated the lessons learned, discovered hidden abilities and finally decided to follow us becoming our stable collaborators, working with the young people is not only possible but also beautiful!
MEB3: How did you start thinking about incorporating ancient paintings into your contemporary artistic techniques and getting a relevant modern message?
CC: The work of art restorer allowed me to know and appreciate many paintings, sculptures, frescoes, etc… I had the opportunity and also the duty to study techniques and materials. I was struck by the perfection and mastery with which the great artists of the past dedicated their lives to produce beauty. This immense heritage has come down to us as a gift, the idea of including ancient works in my contemporary art projects stems from the desire to create a dialogue between past and present with the aim of making the observer aware of the great recurring themes in societies of all ages, in this sense artistic works becomes socially useful and not an end in itself.
MEB3: What came first, your desire to marry neglected and unknown works with modern techniques, or your desire to express modernity through a different approach using historical paintings?
CC: First came the desire to revive the neglected and unknown works through a new expressive language, then the desire to express one’s message using ancient works is very potent and hasn’t been done.
MEB3: What techniques do you use when choosing a painting as the basis of your work?
CC: As we mentioned before, my works are the result of a fusion between the experiences linked to the knowledge of restoration techniques of ancient artifacts and the creative abilities typical of contemporary art. The works are composed of a part in which the reinterpretation of the preservation language emerges to give a new reading in a modern key and a part made an ex novo on a usually wooden support that is realized as an oil painting on wood.
Read the full article on Art Market Magazine July Issue #44
CREAZIONE (CREATION) The work from the “Creation” title is an ‘opportunity to reflect on this theme with the help of figurative art, the subject most represented by various painters of the past’, “La Maternity “understood in the traditional sense of the Madonna with Child, which for many centuries becomes an idealized example of the role of women in society. Ancient that contrasts with the representation that surrounds it both in aesthetic terms and in terms of its own significance and emphasizes the alternative possibility that the woman may have in the event that she chooses to abandon metaphorically the veil of the Madonna to become a modern figure that carries creativity, the mother of an intellectual journey and work that will lead her to give birth with the mind realizing the dream of writing. For the first time in history, and for some decades, women have gained the opportunity to think about the various forms of motherhood, this concept is very significant since until now, particularly in a patriarchal society, this condition remained deliberately mute and without reflection. In fact, motherhood was conceived, but understood as a duty to be satisfied within a certain age, causing frustrations and problems of adaptation for the figures less predisposed to this destiny to procreate: understanding and giving value to what it takes place both during pregnancy and during the creation of various forms of life, leaving the opportunity to all women, in particular those excluded from the traditional experience, to actively re-appropriate a possibility of conscious choice of one’s role in society.
