A vital painting, made up of energetic gestures and colors that brush away the grey. This is the art of Carolaelupo.
Carola, when did you discover art?
When I was a little girl. I used to live in a small village where it rained often, in every season. And I loved to draw in that childhood time that goes by slowly, while outside the rain was pouring down, thunder and lightning and black skies. Drawing was that alive spirit that allowed me to go through those times, it made it creative, enriched it with colors. Living in a small town, the days were not packed with activities like the ones of the children today, especially those living in the city.
And today?
My approach with art remains the same as I had as a child: it is what puts me in contact with what I have inside, and takes me to a different space and time dimension. In this sense, the 70 days of lockdown have been very significant. I drew a lot, drawings full of energy and made with a lot of energy. So, while many suffered from isolation, boredom, and the jobs that used to fill up their days, I was aware of having an inestimable richness.
The titles of your works are very evocative. How do you choose them?
There is no fixed rule. I often draw with an intention and the title is basically the idea I have in mind. I think of the sun, I have the intention of connecting to that force, that energy, that symbol. Other times I just draw and then ask myself what that work means to me.
Tell us about your pseudonym, Carolaelupo. Where does it come from?
Lupo was a great love and a great gift. Sometimes life gives us the gift of meeting someone – it might be a friend, a lover, or an animal – who reveals to us a greater love. And this love is still in me, and will be until the day I die. Lupo was a dog that was too big to be a dog. Not only, he always wanted to be with you to show you his love, but also do with you whatever you were doing. It was something visible and evident. This is why I say he was too big to be a dog. My name Carolaelupo was born in 2012. I was drawing between his constant interfering, until that day, which I remember as if it was today, I looked him in the eye and I said to him “ Lupo, I understand. These drawings belong to both of us. From now on I will sign them Carolaelupo.”
