Alessandra Ricci is a visual artist who grew up in Northern Italy and relocated to the D.C. area in 2009. Her work is currently featured in Gallery B’s CounterCurrent, on display in Bethesda until February 27. Her entry to the COVID project is Pandora’s Box, mixed media. (Learn more about the COVID Poetry & Art Project here!)

Chatting with the artist

Can you tell us about this piece and what led you to create it? How has the pandemic influenced your art?

Pandora’s box is a mythological and vindictive gift from Zeus that Pandora opens out of curiosity. From that box break out all evils known to humanity, including sickness, toil, rage, and suffering. In this painting, I portray an explosion of colors and human emotions at the moment Pandora opened the proverbial box. Pandora managed to withhold “hope,” and it is that hope, [even in the midst of] our suffering, that [let’s us] recall our individual mortality and joy, to the envy of the gods.

As an artist, I have tried to take advantage of this time of crisis in the most constructive way possible—by creating new paintings and experimenting with new techniques. One of these is the fun and messy Resin Art technique, where I mix various pigments with resin in small paper cups and then pour them onto canvas to create special effects full of shades, depth, and movement.

I definitely feel more creative and have more time to think about and develop new ideas.  The suffering and worries associated with the virus, and its effects on all aspects of our lives, help me find positivity in mundane activities and I attempt to transfer this positivity into my art.

What role do you think the arts play in times of turmoil and uncertainty?

Arts play an important role during times of uncertainty. Art helps to liberate us from the oppression of isolation and depression. It is an emotional and visual escape and a reminder that brighter days are ahead.

What are you viewing, reading, watching, and/or listening to these days?

I have once again found the joys of reading a good novel. I am presently enjoying The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, an Italian writer. This story helps remind me how cyclical life is—history repeats itself, and we should strive to learn from the past to improve our present and future.

Do you have a favorite D.C. area writer or artist?

Growing up in Italy, and having graduated from an Italian art school, my favorite artists lean towards the European classics and especially surrealism. My favorite artist is Magritte. In the D.C. area, I greatly enjoy the murals and sculptures by various contemporary artists.

Anything else that you want to say?

I am greatly honored and excited to be included in this DCTRENDING project! Thank you for supporting local artists.

About the artist

I was born and raised in Northern Italy. Greatly influenced by contemporary Italian sculptors and painters from an early age, I was incited to explore my artistic inclinations. I relocated from Europe to the Washington, D.C. area in 2009.

After completing my studies at the Depero School of Art in Rovereto, Italy in 1994, I began to cultivate my own artistic style through relentless research and experimentation. I have exhibited my art in Trento and Verona, Italy; Luzern and Zug, Switzerland; SOHO, New York City; Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia.

In addition to classic canvas paintings, I have extended my art through batik and serti techniques on silk and silk-wool blended clothing and scarves. Unlike the typical batik heat-stamping process, I perfected new batik and serti methods that allow me to completely hand-paint complex and vivid images. It gives me great joy to create wearable art as an extension of my artistic expressions, and that further offers the user unique and stylish fashion statements.

[DCTRENDING is republishing this artwork with the permission of Mike Maggio and the artist. Find the original COVID project post here.]

Connect with the artist

On Twitter: @A_Ricci

On Instagram: aricciphoto

On her website: www.alessandra-ricci.com