Nicolò Masiero Sgrinzatto presents himself as maker of “unruly machines and artifacts” suspended in precarious condition. A goliardic spirit, a fascination with carousels and care for form emerge in his practice.

Eleonora Reffo: In your practice you are very inspired by small-town imagery, what fascinates you most about it?
Nicolò Masiero Sgrinzatto: In the rural areas I notice a strong attitude towards self-design and self-production.The raw talent of a bravado discloses a wealth of technical knowledge and craftsmanship, the anarchic idea of creation that coexists with discipline and design pragmatism. Personally, I am attracted by carousels – which I see as allegory of performances – and by country fairs, as they are the places that host them the most.

Faced with the actual possibility of taking contemporary art out of the major city centers, what is your vision?
This possibility can generate a focal point of exchange, and has therefore a strong social role. It involves working with the communities and for the communities while keeping an approach of mutual availability. Without meaning it in a sense of do-gooders rhetoric, but as encounter, confrontation and debate. It means giving (and giving oneself) dignity and well-being – both individual and collective – with generous humility. It’s a good exercise to leave aside the Pindaric flights that burden art. On the other hand, it helps having an attitude of openness towards languages that brings back to the present or, even better, that looks towards visions of the possible!

What role does handwork play in your production?
It fascinates me trying to know, to process and to transform matter through analogue or digital tools. I always make sure that this dimension is part of my practice. It means trying to understand a material, its characteristics or a related technique. This requires patience, time and, consequently, it is a direct stimulus to purely conceptual openings and reasoning. Moreover, being linked to manual skills, in my opinion, is a possible antidote to bulimic production and strictly managerial ambitions.

In your opinion, how important is it today for an artist to have a studio? And in your specific case?
I think it’s essential and right that everyone has their physical and emotional own dimension in which to feel most comfortable. In my case I am lucky enough to have one and I consider it essential: I have more control over the ongoing project.

You presented the first chapter “Altro giro, altra corsa” for the “Risky Hardware” exhibition at the Ramo Gallery in Como. Will others follow? Can you anticipate anything?
As stated in the contract between me and N.V. – the worker who took iron from the company where he works that I used for sculptures – I’m repaying my debt to him by offering him litres of craft beer. So, today, we drink! More chapters, more rides and more races will follow. The process is slow and needs continuous settling, rethinking and opportunities. The project is brewing, just like a beer!

Eleonora Reffo

Nicolò Masiero Sgrinzatto (Arre, 1992) lives and works in Padua. He graduated in New Technologies of Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. He builds unruly machines and objects. He’s represented by Galleria Ramo (Como, IT) and has exhibited at In Fieri (Centro Culturale Altinate – San Gaetano, Padova, 2018), Contemporaneamenti (Fondazione L’Arsenale, Iseo, 2018), Oikos (Casa Bossi, Novara 2019), Art Stays Festival (Ptuj, 2019), Soundscapes of Work and Play (Distilleria De Giorgi, San Cesario di Lecce, 2019), Ambiente primo: la misura (Nowhere Gallery, Milan 2019), Francesco Fabbri Prize for Contemporary Arts (Villa Brandolin, Pieve di Soligo, 2019), Torbio (Galleria Ramo, Como, 2020), Art Stays Festival (Ptuj, 2020), Risky Hardware (Galleria Ramo, Como, 2021), Helicotrema Festival (Teatrino Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 2021). He worked at Nuovostudio Factory and Officine Panottiche at VEGA – Parco Scientifico Tecnologico di Venezia, Skintxt – special effects and prosthetic design laboratory for cinema – and now he works at Officina Salvan.