Claudio Parentela

Interview – artist Claudio Parentela on his inexhaustible desire for freedom

Sometimes you stumble upon artists who make extraordinary work. Pieces of art you have to look at twice, to discover what’s exactly on it. Claudio Parentela is such an artist. With his collages he tells a lot and nothing at the same time. Discover his drive, lockdown advise and his ability to do what he likes most – every single day.
Cover photo: © Claudio Parentela

Claudio Parentela

Born and raised in Catanzaro, Italy, artust Claudio Parentela isn’t the average creative mind. As a result, he created a life filled with activities he likes most. His collages describes itself best as “art with a freakish taste“. His pieces are a mix of paintings, photography and undefinable scribbles.

claudio parentela
© claudio parentela

Parentela hasn’t been making art his entire life. Back in 1995, he decided to dedicate his entire life to art. He explains: “I feel fully free when I create art, shoot photos, cutting, painting and glueing. Freedom is the most essential object in life to me. It’s essential to breathe, to continually live day after day.” His decision to fully focus on his artistic career, happened by chance, when he “started drawing and painting compulsively.” Short after, he started to exhibit his work and soon collaborations with other artists followed. “Since then I never stopped.” In the meantime he became a professional succer for everything that inspires him, for example black ink. “For the first 14 years I’ve only drawn in black and white. I created many rivers of black Indian in. Hence, I love the thousand shades between the black and white of the ink. They’re like the thousand shades of the human soul.

“I love the thousand shades between the black and white of the ink. They’re like the thousand shades of the human soul.”

Drawing his inspiration from fashion, books and “everything that attracts my attention“, Parentelo commonly creates a diverse range of work. Big names such as Sara Vaughan, John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld inspire him on a daily basis.

When asking about his survival method during lockdown, he has a resolute answer: “I don’t have a very social life, I like to stay locked up in my studio all day to work on my drawings, my paintings, my music and other projects. My life didn’t change much during the lockdown, except for the fact that I drew a lot more. Furthermore, I participated in many mail art projects and I drew, painted and sew many masks. In these strange days, in these dark days, the time has passed very quickly. It’s a strange feeling. But I made the most out of it.


Also read: Desert Hearts co-founder Marbs rounds up his favorite modern artists

READ MORE_