La scala, 1990

A central figure of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, alongside Mimmo Paladino and Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi is an artist whose works encompass a Neo-Expressionistic style and breathe fresh air into symbolism and figurative drawing. A lot of Cucchi’s creations resemble ancient cave-paintings with their textured surfaces and spontaneous charcoal lines; a lot of his imagery also employs such primitive tools and motifs as fire, livestock and eyes, with imagery blurring the lines between faces and landscapes - Ghiaccio...Bollente is one among many works to exemplify this. Cucchi has noted that emotion is the most important facet of his creativity; he stated: “Everything has to be emotional. Every single sign you make with your hands, your skills, the stuff you draw… Every movement you make should be done emotionally lit.”