A Conversation with Marta Spagnoli

Photo crediti: Ela Bialkowska OKONO studio

Marta Spagnoli(Verona, 1994) lives and works in Venice. Her notable exhibitions include: “ON THE ROCKS”, Galleria Continua Paris, France (2024); “Pittura Italiana Oggi”, Triennale of Milan, Milan, Italy (2023); “De Leur Temps (7), Un Regard sur les Collections Privé Françaises”, Dunkerque, France (2023); “A World of Coexistence - 2022 Jinan International Biennale”, Jinan, China (2023); “DAA Gli artisti della Collezione BLM 1998 2018”, The Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Venice, Italy (2022); “In primo luogo”, Galleria Continua Rome, Italy (2022); “HORIZON”, Brussels, Belgium (2022); “A parallel viewpoint, Moulin de Sainte-Marie, Boissy Le Châtel, France (2022); “IL EST ICI, TOUJOURS AILLEURS”, Galleria Continua Paris and Les Moulins, France (2022); “Earthly Body”, Galleria Continua Les Moulins, France (2021); “Italian Twist”, Gallerie delle Prigioni, Treviso, Italy (2021); “Truc à faire”, Galleria Continua Paris, France (2021); “Felicia Munera”, per Una Boccata d’Arte, Ronciglione, Italy (2020); “Whiteout”, Galleria Continua San Gimignano, Italy (2020); “Libere Tutte”, Casa Testori, Novate Milanese, Italy (2019); “Art Zagreb”, Zagrabia, Croatia (2019); “Immersione Libera”, Palazzina dei Bagni Misteriosi, Milan, Italy (2019); “102nd Young Artists Collective”, the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy (2019); “Braintooling”, Forte di Monte Ricco, Pieve di Cadore, Italy (2018). In 2019, she won the first Artissima Prize for Vinitaly and the 2nd prize ex-aequo at the 102nd Collective Exhibition of Young Artists organized by the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice, Italy. Her works are part of the public collections of the CRC Foundation, Cuneo, Italy; the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Venice, Italy; the Giancarlo Ligabue Foundation, Venice, Italy; and Spazio Almag, Brescia, Italy.

I had the pleasure of asking Marta about what makes an artwork remarkable, how she uses art to reflect the world she sees and feels it to be, her recent exhibition, and so much more.

UZOMAH: What is the most challenging aspect of your creative process as an artist, and how do you navigate it?

MARTA: I'm fascinated by the distance between the starting point of an image—often born from a mental intuition or a strong inner feeling—and the final result, which takes shape as a physical image. It's this gap, this difference between the potential image and its realization, that draws me in. Working this way feels like holding my breath, as if every gesture could reveal something unexpected, and the idea of "thinking with my hand" is essential to me. No matter how much you plan or try to anticipate the outcome of a painting, there's always an element that escapes control—and it's this uncertainty that makes the work feel alive.

U: Through your art, how do you connect the study of the constant reciprocity between the human experience, the animal dimension, and the environment that hosts them in a cohesive way that allows the audience to see how your creation develops all the themes together?

M: I can say that the natural world has always been a source of inspiration for me and my work. For years, my research has focused heavily on mythic thought—that human need to create universal images and stories as a way to understand and structure our relationships with the world around us, from the social to the natural, through a poetic form. This ongoing exchange and cultural development remain deeply rooted in the natural context, in our relationship with animals and natural disasters... The fascination and symbolic value of certain subjects I choose and depict in my work to me have the power to embody specific psychic forces.

U: Do you feel genuine creativity can be forever lost in a World of AI?

M: No, I don’t think so. I believe AI can be a tool for exploration and for expanding artistic language. However, my work is deeply connected to my physicality, my bodily presence, and my direct relationship with space and the materials I use. For this reason, AI is not a field I am currently engaging with.

Marta Spagnoli Algae I 2024 acrylic ink and oil on canvas 45 x 55 cm 17.71 x 21.65 in Courtesy: the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA Photographer: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio

U: Can you discuss some of your favorite techniques that you use the most and why?  

M: I would say that I use fairly simple techniques, such as drawing with markers and pens on paper or working with acrylic and oil on paper or canvas. On the surface, they seem like traditional techniques. However, I couldn't say exactly why I chose them—I’ve always had a strong inclination for drawing, and it has remained central to my practice.

U: How do you see art as an experience that can be used as a narrative medium and expression both for the artist and the viewer of the artwork?

M: An artwork is certainly a means of expression that can be shared, but the intentions and needs behind its creation can be very different from those of the viewer who experiences and interprets it. Ultimately, I believe that an artwork embodies and captures collective and shared experiences—it stems from an individual necessity for expression but then grows and takes shape within the public sphere.

U: What makes a piece of art universally appealing?

M: I think it requires a combination of factors—the ability to capture something that makes us feel and recognize ourselves as deeply human.

Marta Spagnoli Algae III 2024 acrylic ink and oil on canvas 45 x 55 cm 17.71 x 21.65 in Courtesy: the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA Photographer: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio

U: Your most recent exhibition, Fantasmata, at Galleria Continua. The word Fantasmata belongs to Western philosophical discourse and is also found in the world of dance; what made you come up with that meaning and title? How did you correlate that meaning with the paintings for this exhibition?

M: For me, it was a coincidence—both visual and conceptual. The term Fantasmata, primarily used in philosophy, is applied in dance to describe the "image" of a movement: a moment in which the energy of an entire choreography is concentrated, yet remains suspended, waiting to be released.

I found a parallel with my work, recognizing similarities in how I conceive space, move through it, and explore the balance between fullness and emptiness—a suspension charged with potential. I wanted to deepen this connection not only conceptually but also formally, composing images with a choreographic logic. The subjects, often repeated within the composition of the canvas like a form of writing, evoke the dynamics of a moving dance ensemble.

U: Are there specific literary devices that you find particularly useful in your visual art, and conversely, are there visual techniques that you believe could enhance the literary arts?

M: I can speak from my own experience as an artist who draws heavily from the world of literature, which provides me with the greatest return in terms of images, sensations, and research—especially through essays. I would say that the interpenetration of the arts, from cinema to literature to painting, is increasingly a defining characteristic of the contemporary era. So, I imagine this exchange happens frequently in the opposite direction as well.

U: How do you use art to reflect the world you see and feel it to be?

M: I have always seen my work as the expression of a kind of "digestion" of reality and the context in which I live—a process in which visual information, sensations, and emotions are absorbed and transformed, then returned through painting and drawing. My pictorial experience could be compared to the construction of an emotional map, where the canvas becomes the place where impressions and memories of events condense and take shape. These include both my personal experiences—my inner world—and the external stimuli and information I absorb, which I then translate into an expressive language that I would describe as imaginative and symbolic.

Marta Spagnoli Algae IV 2025 acrylic and oil on canvas 45 x 55 cm 17.71 x 21.65 in Courtesy: the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA Photographer: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio

U: With your paintings, you guide the audience on a journey, leading them to interpret and complete the artwork. How do you craft this effect, where the audience feels they are finishing the painting when creating your artwork?

M: I work a lot with the concept of trace or fragment. Technically and visually, I rely on accidental gestures and brushstrokes, which are essential for enriching the narrative without depicting something specific. My mark-making is not just about describing forms; often, it is a line that dances, recording movement or the vibrations of an atmosphere. Narratively, too, figuration is torn from its original context and isolated.

The trace, the fragment—these are open-ended pieces of information, just as I believe my images and works are. The fragmentation in my paintings comes from a persistent layering process, alternated with moments of emptiness, often represented by white spaces that hold multiple meanings within my work. Sometimes, they are raw portions of unprimed canvas, true voids of untouched surface, while at other times, they are textured brushstrokes that override and rewrite the anatomies and forces at play within the painting.

U: How has your upbringing in Venice and your education at its art school influenced your creative process? What aspects of Venetian culture and your childhood in Venice do you cherish the most?

M: I moved to Venice to continue my university studies, choosing the Painting program at the Academy of Fine Arts. I have been living in the lagoon for ten years now, deciding to stay even after finishing my studies. I am originally from Verona, a city that, being in Veneto as well, is very close to Venice, so I have always frequented it.

I can say that both art and the Veneto region are places deeply shaped by clear and specific historical and cultural references. Being born in such a context is undoubtedly a privilege but, at the same time, a decisive influence.

My university experience, and especially life in Venice, has had a profound impact on my creative process. My professor, Carlo Di Raco, guided me throughout my years of study, instilling in me a strong seriousness and dedication to my work, promoting summer activities, and encouraging the experimental use of materials.

Finally, I would add the water, a certain light, and the vaporous, still atmosphere that Venice emits, not so different from the fog or the summer heat of the Veronese plains where I spent my childhood.

For more information about Marta’s work, please follow her on Instagram. More information about her latest exhibition can be found at the Galleria Continua’s website here. The magazine also featured her exhibition, which can be found here.