CURATORIAL ESSAY

by Delia Cabral

In this hyper-specialized world, Flavio Bisciotti stands apart. Even in the fine arts, fluid as they can be, we categorize and subcategorize. We define art and artists as abstract painters, figurative sculptors, a photographer in black and white, an installation artist working with architecture, etc. But Flavio cuts across these definitions.

Bisciotti was educated as an architect in Buenos Aires. Always a supporter of artists, he owned an art gallery in his 20s, just as he owns one now in Santa Monica. When making art, Flavio takes a holistic approach. He creates art as an entire environment. He designed and built his gallery, designed and built its furniture, created a hanging system for the art, and in this space we can view his and others’ sculpture and paintings. His art and vision are seamless and complete.

Bisciotti’s South American heritage is evident in his paintings. He employs warm, rich colors. He is drawn to earth tones punctuated with strong graphic compositions. His drawings display an architectural line and evoke complex blueprints of cities that suggest something from human history as remembered in dreams. Flavio’s work is structured and detailed yet painterly and broadly open to interpretation. His sculpture is anchored in functional design but conjures imaginative reinventions. For example, his armchair is a beautiful example of clean, modern, functional furniture, but has been transformed into a vessel filled with objects destroyed by fire and carefully curated to create a sensation contrary to the order and transparency of the chair itself.

Bisciotti’s mastery over space, function, design, and play is readily evident. He approaches his art not from one perspective or modality but from a multitude of standpoints. Flavio unites, and re-unites, what had been fractured, categorized, separated, torn apart. He helps us see that there is more than one perspective or approach to art and in art. He invites us to view art and the creative process in a different way, a multifaceted way that reflects our own complexities.

November 2016 – Los Angeles