the art of mary cinque

“Art keeps us in touch, as if we are falling into the paintings and meet each other there.” Mary Cinque.

Cities, intense use of colours and instant portraits are the main features in the work of Mary Cinque, the Italian artist based in London since 2017. Her series "Titled" is an insightful look at several aspects of the urban context, translated in images of the city through the use of horizontal and vertical lines.

The architectural research is clear in her work, most of the paintings are a response to the influence of the great cities where she lived like Naples, Los Angeles, New York and London. Inspiration comes from the metropolitan astonishment from different areas of the city. This is very well translated in her "wanderer" series, a collection of drawings featuring the urban space of Stoke Newington and Dalston in London, where she use to live nowadays.

Mary Cinque, 017_Odeon_ Tottenham, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm

  Mary Cinque, Sunstreet, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 40 cm

Mary Cinque, Barbican, 2017.  Acrylic on canvas, 31.5 x 31.5  cm

Mary Cinque, To Wilton's Music Hall, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 cm

Photography has a primary role in the entire process of composition: a simple shot acts like a sketch and the analysis of it is a deep reflection on the "reality" she sees around her. A process of elimination in order to simplify reduces the image to the essence. “Lots of elements in the composition are almost disturbing the total perception of the image” says Mary “so it becomes necessary to deny their presence”.

"The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore, the object must be eliminated from the picture" Piet Mondrian

The influence of Piet Mondrian is instantly recognisable in Mary’s paintings. The drive to reduce is a necessity to see the unity in natural things.

  Mary Cinque, Vesuvius, 2018. Acrylic on canvas , 100 x 100 cm

Mary Cinque, 016titled#012 1, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 120  x 100  cm

Mary Cinque, 016titled#04 , 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 100  x 70  cm

The use of colours is persistent in Mary’s work, but the use of different mediums, from acrylics to brush pens, has a clear purpose. “The acrylic on canvas is mostly used to represent the cities because it allows me to reflects more on what I saw and  it is a chance to think on the painting itself while working on it," says the artist Mary "instead I prefer the brush pens for my live portraits to catch the personality of the person in front of me and express it with few lines in a fast way.  This allows me to capture the energy of the person I am looking at and transfer it immediately in the drawings”.

Mary Cinque, The portrait project girl bl, 2017.  Marker on paper,  24 x 17 cm

Mary Cinque, The portrait project stripe bl, 2017.  Marker on paper,  24 x 17 cm

Mary studied art and decoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, where the cultural richness of the city with its complex architecture offered her great inspiration to work and experiment with different techniques and subjects.  Her last  solo exhibition, "The illusion of Dedalus", curated by Massimo Bignardi and with a text by Ada Patrizia Fiorillo, was showcased in 2017  at "Centro di Sarro" in Rome and at "The Italian Cultural Institute" in Cologne, under the direction of Lucio Izzo. In this cycle of paintings, dedicated to urban views, Mary reduces the volumes to flat colours celebrating the enigma of visibility looking at the city through the painting itself, as  if the canvas is the new place telling us a new story. 

She has been recently selected for the Saatchi Other Art Fair of Los Angeles, a platform for artists to present and sell their work directly to art buyers. She presented her "Titled" series along with her live portraits and the "wanderer" series realized here in London.  Her painting "Vesuvius" was chosen by Art aficionado and Host Committee member Jose Lemus from Paul Smith as one of the 6 must- see artworks and artists at #TheOtherArtFairLA. 

Mary Cinque, The wanderer Stoke Newington Church Street, 2017.  Marker on paper,  24 x 17 cm

An architectural lesson in Venice - Carlo Scarpa - Negozio Olivetti [1957-58]

"If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing."  Carlo Scarpa

It is rare to have the chance to experience an original and truthful architecture....  In  2011 the Olivetti showroom was restored and entrusted to FAI, the Italian Environmental Foundation, which has finally re-opened it to the public, complete with original Olivetti typewriters. The masterpiece of the Venetian architect is an architectural tale of meticulous details telling us the story of its making, of its placing, and of its dimensioning. 

In 1957 Scarpa was commissioned by Adriano Olivetti to design the store as a splendid showcase for the typewriters and calculators produced by Olivetti Company.  He introduced new processes along with a celebration of the old, mixing sophisticated construction methods with a careful selection of materials : marble and stone, mosaic floor, Venetian plaster, different essences of wood, metal and glass.  Scarpa reorganised the entire space blending the exterior and the interior through the use of big windows, emptying the perimeter walls and opening the entire space toward the portico of Piazza San Marco.

Scarpa's attention to detail was almost obsessive. His understanding of  Veneto craftsmanship was active, based on his daily working and dealing with the stonecutters, masons, carpenters, glassmakers, and smiths of Venice. Any single detail, meticulously designed, attract the visitors’ attention and curiosity.

 /Photography by Concetta Vitelli/

The side facade of the Olivetti showroom is a geometric composition in which there is a balanced fusion of past and future, old and new elements: the stone door with the gilded Olivetti logo overlapping the edges of a plain lintel and the door, a low concrete base supporting an Istrian stone band, the company name curved into a large stone plate, the big windows offering a glimpse of the space inside.

 "Nudo al Sole" :  the large gilded bronze sculpture by Alberto Viani is a prominent feature of the Olivetti Showroom, an integral part of the architecture which gives the entire space a note of pure elegance. Sited above a black Belgian marble base covered by a veil of water, it can be seen from different points.

The perception of Scarpa’s space is also determined by the light. Every moment along the path has a peculiar characterization. He created a gradual modulation of the light during the route  combining both natural and artificial light. The natural light mainly comes from the large glass opening on the ground facing the main square. The walls, with Venetian stucco applied over panelling, are illuminated both vertically and horizontally by fluorescent lights. 

A touch of colour changes in the mosaic tiles becomes the objects that animate the architectural space, while lines cut out the figurative space. In this we read Scarpa's personal variation of the traditional Venetian terrazzo: rectangular mosaic tesserae of Murano glass paste, of four different colours and sizes, were hand-placed in a pattern of horizontal rows in a light grey-white cement bed. The solution is a clear reference to Paul Klee's canvas Emacht.  

L-shaped slabs of polished Aurisina marble of different lengths form the stair leading up to the second level and balconies. The marble staircase appear to float weightless, and allow views through the room. It is a sculptural object within the space.  The shadowed spaces between the  slabs allow them to maintain their independence from each other, accentuating the fragmentary nature of the overall composition. The steps are connected by cylindrical brass pins which are aligned with the showroom central axis. A series of load-bearing concrete blocks support the steps from below.

The typewriters are important elements of the showroom, so Scarpa used several way to exhibit it. He studied the exhibition based on the light.  Inside the museum, they are shown in long lines under the artificial light. 

The two long balconies at the mezzanine level are cladded in rich African teak. The mezzanine increase the available floor space and thanks to them,  the space of the showroom can be perceived from different points of view. The mezzanine is suspended from the ceiling and pinned at the side to the outer walls and marble-clad pillar in the room’s centre.

A SCANDINAVIAN TOUCH IN VENICE-THE URBAN OASIS-MESTRE AIRBNB

These are pictures from the Urban Oasis Airbnb apartment in Mestre, where I spent two beautiful nights during my visit to Venice.  The entire house was renovated from the young couple Martina and Andrea who turned their grandmother’s place into a Scandy-styled beautiful and comfortable space.

Black and white colours scheme mixed with wooden tones and green living elements give the space some warmth and create a pure and serene atmosphere. Smart decorating solutions with handmade and unique objects are applied with the minimal touch.

/Photography by Concetta Vitelli /

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK 2017 MOODBOARD

Photography by Concetta Vitelli 

Copper work on wall. Spoon in silver and copper. Metal work on wall by KEITOMINAGA. Clerkenwell Design Week 2017.

Fabrics , wallpaper by Style Library Contract

Small containers with marble and wood lid. Copper bowl with salad spoon by Grace Souky. 

Led system. Light Art at Fabric London. 

White clay and glass, DUO COLOR. Glazed Terracotta, GOOSEBERRY by Hand&Eye Studio.

Corrugated cardboard, SCRAPLIGHT series by Graypants. Hand woven out of maple wood, PREN lighting by Louise Tucker.

Handcrafted Wa Wa Wall Lamp by Catellani&Smith.

 Hand-blown glass lighting  by Curiosa&Curiosa.

 Canopy pendant, led pendant light, mouth-blown lead crystal shade by Haberdashery.

Wall mounted wireless speaker. Portable Wireless Speaker BeoSound1, BeoSound2 by Bang & Olufsen, Dance Room, Fabric London