10 Questions with Marco Jacconi

Marco Jacconi born in Berne, Switzerland is an artist from Zurich with Italian and Moroccan roots. His complex compositions are based on surfaces and amorphous forms and the interplay of light and shadow. Before devoting himself exclusively to art, Jacconi worked for many years as creative director in the graphic design area, where he worked for well-known companies from home and abroad. He worked exclusively in the areas of luxury, beauty and fashion. In the 1990s he belonged to the Swiss graphic design-and digital art avant-garde and influenced an entire swiss subculture with his works, which contributed significantly to a Swiss design renaissance. His works at that time were exhibited in the Kunsthalle Bern, alongside works of Ugo Rondinone and Sylvie Fleury.

His latest artworks from the „Shapes of the deep“ series were presented last and this year at exhibitions in New York, Saō Paulo, Milan, Shanghai, Venice, Athens and Zurich.

marcojacconi.com | @marcojacconi

ARTIST STATEMENT

"My work is a dive into the unknown. Cause and effect remain diffuse with these surfaces and amorphous forms, which dramatically overlap and penetrate each other until depths emerge. Each work is visualized energy; as if something is pushing outwards from the inside, as if the surfaces were under pressure. The work went through countless metamorphoses on this visual adventure journey until it found its final form. My aim is to penetrate into spiritual spheres and to make the mysterious invisible visible." - Marco Jacconi

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. You worked in graphic design for many years before turning to visual art. How did you start getting involved with art? And when did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

My name is Marco Jacconi; I was born and raised in Bern, Switzerland. I grew up in a multicultural family with Italian and Moroccan roots, and I work as an artist in Zurich. Before dedicating myself exclusively to art, I worked for many years as a creative director in the graphic design branch for well-known companies in the areas of luxury, beauty, and fashion from Switzerland and abroad. In the 90s, together with my then business partner of the Wallhalla design agency Marco Simonetti, I was part of the Swiss Graphic Design and Digital Art Avantgarde. At that time, we mainly focused on progressive graphic design and digital art in the subcultural area. Our work was exhibited in the Kunsthalle Bern, alongside works from Ugo Rondinone and Sylvie Fleury. I started making and exhibiting art in my twenties. In recent years after some significant personal experiences, I felt the need to express myself in art again. To this day, I mainly focus on new media.

How much of your previous career do you put into your art? Does it influence your work, or are they completely separated? 

The technical skills of mastering the medium were certainly influenced and enriched by my professional experience. However, in terms of content and concept, they are two separate worlds which, in my case, have nothing in common with each other. In my artistic work, I have an absolutely free, personal, rather sensual, and mystical approach.

How would you define yourself as an artist? What differentiate you from the others?

I have the willingness to engage in aesthetic processes repeatedly without wanting to determine the goal. The more often I get involved in uncertain and open processes, the more I can focus on my perception creatively and improvise constantly my working processes. This allows me to find new things and to lose them again, even destroying and deconstructing them. It allows me to grow from the challenges thrown at me. Therefore, I meet the creative challenges with as much openness, risk, and courage as possible. All this is in order to continue to grow artistically. A sharp edge characterizes my current work project, "Shapes of the deep". This runs as a guiding theme through all the images. It provides three-dimensionality and depth. Abstract landscapes and shadow worlds emerge from surfaces. Each image is visualized energy: It is as if something from the inside would penetrate to the outside – as if the surfaces were under pressure. As if there was something to discover inside. My aim is to find the portals in my pictures that ultimately lead to peace and presence.

In your statement, you define your paintings as "visualized energy." How did you come up with this idea? And what does it mean to you?

Many contrasts and contradictions come into play in my pictures. The dramatic and the harmonious. The light and the darkness.

The day and the night. Life and death. The one cannot exist without the other. There is a deep magic in this polarity once one has found the point of union to wholeness. Contrasts are juxtapositions that create tension, surprise, and energy. I emphasize these opposites through color and shape contrasts, sharp contrasts and resting points, and a strong use of light and shadow. These contrasts ultimately create a tension difference that radiates energy and liveliness. In my current project, "Shapes of the deep", I am therefore focused on the exploration of wholeness.

Where did you get your inspiration, both visually and conceptually? Are there any artists or designers you particularly look up to? 

My inspiration comes from different sources, such as art, movies, design, architecture, and nature. It can be the structure of a material or the shape of an insect or a wave. Everything can inspire me. All these images and styles have an enigmatic effect on me so that eventually, I can come up with new ideas and visual approaches. There are so many fantastic artists from all kinds of styles that I admire and follow. However, the Baroque painter Caravaggio fascinates me the most. His images' theatricality, depth, and drama through the characteristic Chiaroschuro style and technique have deeply impressed me since my youth. Lucio Fontana, the man with the cuts on the canvas, is another artist whom I find very fascinating. His “concetto spaziale” was unprecedentedly innovative in its time. By having the canvas pierced or slit open, he included the space not only as an illusion, but also as a real thing. The cut, in particular, was not aimed at destroying the picture but, on the contrary, to give a dimension beyond the picture.

Tell us more about your creative process. What are the steps that lead you to the final work? 

In relation to my "Shapes of the Deep" project, most of the time, my approach is to build on older, sometimes incomplete, work. Then I start experimenting with the artwork. I proceed very intuitively and playfully. Often, I supplement the work additionally with my photographs. Of course, I consider formal criteria for shape and color for a picture composition with an exciting rhythm. But what drives me above all when creating the "shapes of the deep "artworks is to penetrate spiritual spheres and make the mysterious invisible visible. This happens through an intense and intuitive work process in which the picture goes through countless metamorphoses until it finds its final form. In doing so, I do not consciously control this intuitive creative process, but rather accompany it. So, it is simultaneously an active and passive work. It is a sensual adventure journey with an open end. The "Shapes of the deep" project is about searching for a visual language that captures the spiritual spheres beyond the world of appearances.

You have exhibited extensively, both in Europe and around the world. What do you think of the art market and collectors? 

The art market is too complex to be dealt with by quick judgments. But with close observation and background knowledge, many things become more transparent. The trend to purchase art online is certainly in line with the overall development of the art market, which is becoming larger, more digital, and more global due to the steady flow of new buyers.

What about the past year? How did the global pandemic impact your work? Did you find yourself reflecting on this subject, or did you avoid it altogether? And did you find any difference in your approach to art now, compared to the pre-pandemic times?

The pandemic was certainly a very new, drastic experience for me. Like many others, I had never experienced anything like it before. The many restrictions took some time to get used to and were not always pleasant. At the same time, as in my case, there was also a lot of space and time available to develop new ideas. During this time, I started the "Shapes of the deep" project, and fortunately, during the whole pandemic period, I was artistically very productive and busy with the organization of various exhibitions. 

Over the past 12 months, we have witnessed a growing number of online exhibitions and live events. What do you think of the recent changes in the art world? Do you miss the art world as it was before the pandemic, or do you see more opportunity now?

After about a year and a half into the crisis, the art market seems to have undergone an enormous transformation in a very short time. Between the slump in sales and the online boom, the industry is in the process of discovering new art creators and buyer groups for itself. The elite world of galleries is being expanded profitably by the development of online art galleries. Online galleries are also an excellent opportunity to discover emerging talents. You no longer have to embark on long journeys and visit major exhibitions to discover the famous artists of tomorrow. One-click on the right page is enough to buy art online and discover new talents worldwide. The democratization of art is an important function of online art galleries. It's about making art accessible to a large audience and providing a presence as well as a platform to artists worldwide. The art world has entered a new era, that's for sure. However, this does not happen across the galleries or is meant to challenge them or their existence but should be seen as a new complementary form. I see the digitization of the art market as an opportunity, all the more because I often use digital art for my art projects. 

Finally, what are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

I am currently in the preparatory phase for an exhibition at an art fair for contemporary art in Venice and a Digital Art Festival in Athens. Otherwise, I continue to work on the Shapes of the deep series and experiment with new creative approaches. I'm also looking forward to my first exhibition in a contemporary art museum in South Korea next spring.