London-based Italian artist Marco Bettoni has created four new works for his ongoing Infinity series, which sees him continue to explore the perception of our immediate surroundings. Read more about the new works below.
Like many artists,
Marco Bettoni has always been very observant when it comes to the world around him, something which has over the years translated into some insightful and thought-provoking bodies of work. A keen traveller, time spent in the Japanese city of Tokyo led to his well-received ‘Tokyo Lights’ series, a captivating study of the illuminated signs on the tops of taxi cabs made into works of art by Bettoni when he took them off the street and presented them in a gallery.
In 2013 he began to work on the Infinity Series, which, partly autobiographical, explores how we perceive places, and how this conscious impression affects our memories of that place over time. The works are made through a sequence of photographic processes creating a layered effect. This deconstruction of the imagery creates a blurring and shifting effect, much like what is referred to as ‘double vision’. This in turn seeks to represent the breaking down and transition of our own recollections, giving an appearance of movement which suggests how these memories constantly change over time. The result is a stunning collection of enchanting abstracted landscapes made from photographs the artist has taken during his travels.
The four works we’re presenting today were taken on recent visits to Europe, Asia and the UK.
Infinity Series (Japanese House) has been developed from a series of shots taken in Kanazawa, Japan. Like Kyoto, the city of Kanazawa escaped the bombing during the Second World War and as a result remains as it has been for hundreds of years. Clearly taken with the charm of Kanazawa, Bettoni decided to use it as the subject of one of his artworks, although due to the abstracted nature of these works, it’s only the title of the piece that gives away its location, aside from the wave-like pattern that appears in the top half of the image which suggests the recognisable Japanese architecture, along with the foliage in the foreground that also gives the piece a sense of Asia.
For
Infinity Series (Vision), Bettoni travelled to Spain to capture the towering palm. The sense of movement in this piece is strong, perhaps because as the viewer we can relate to the tree swaying in the wind; the more this piece is studied, the more intense the action becomes, to the point where we start to question the legitimacy of our trusted personal vision.
With its beautiful sky blue hues,
Infinity Series (Capri) exudes the very essence of the Italian island, while
Infinity Series (The Garden of England I) transports us to the Kent countryside for a taste of what Bettoni describes as “an extraordinary and intriguing place to continue my research and exploration of landscape and perception.”
Infinity Series (Japanese House),
Infinity Series (Vision),
Infinity Series (Capri) and
Infinity Series (The Garden of England I) are each available in an edition of 30 in 50 x 50 cm, or an edition of 10 at 100 x 100 cm. To see the works in more detail and to see more available limited editions by Marco Bettoni, see his artist’s page
here.