Le voci del silenzio, 1958

“I paint because I exist”: this statement by Emilio Scanavino contains the reason behind his art. Painter, sculptor, and ceramicist, who was also interested in architecture, literature, and philosophy, Scanavino was the author of an original language that contributed to the development of Art Informel in Europe. His works manifest the artist’s complex inner life, the existential nature of his doubts and anxieties, and his attitude toward probing the mystery and hidden aspects of reality. In Scanavino’s world phantasms and shadows are never annulled, the light of day is not strong enough to banish torments and fears, and the balance between life and death seems to tilt in favor of the latter. The artist’s palette is austere and restricted almost exclusively to black and variants of gray. If Scanavino uses red, it is only because he interprets it as a tragic version of black. [...]