UNO
Bio
UNO – which translates as ONE in English – is an artist who has been living and working in Rome since the early 2000s. His artworks feature the classic techniques used in Street Art and mural painting, although he has a particular penchant, which could already be seen ever since his first experiences in the street, for posters, the repetition of iconic elements, collage, decoupage, stencil, and everything ephemeral and connected to the street, with the perennial and incessant need to wander at night burned by fire. Incorporating and updating the teachings learned from Warhol, Debord and Rotella, UNO, through endless repetition and the frequent use of bright colours and fluorescent paint, the artist plays with advertising techniques and the manipulation of well-known signs and symbols. Starting from the symbolic face of a famous advert for chocolate, he makes it an icon of the possible revolution of the individual against mass society. A face freed from the role assigned to it by its creators that paradoxically becomes the ideal tool to use for a critique on the practice of advertising itself. To reinforce the message, the torn paper from the decoupages and stencil-collages made by the artist refer to the laceration of the individual and their uniqueness, which is continuously manipulated until they get lost in the multiplicity of mass society. One hundred thousand, none, ONE. The artist has artworks on display in a number of cities, both in Italy and abroad.
Antrodoco 2022 “Aequilibrium”
Location of piece: Via del Castello, 90 e Via Savelli, 5 – Antrodoco (RI)
Description: The artworks combine the main features of the works of the two artists, the female subjects of Alice and the graphics of Uno. While they play, children are constantly surprising themselves and through surprise, they acquire new ways to relate to the outside world. Surprise is also one of the most genuine features of public art. A piece of graffiti, a sketch or a graphic representation all take on meaning thanks to the context in which they are located, the colours that surround it and the history that distinguishes the area. In this sense, they exploited the urban architecture to transform it into the elements of the painting. A shaft of light becomes the ideal place to do a cartwheel. Behind a lamp post is a great place to play with shadows. The element of surprise reminds passers-by that the most beautiful things in life are the small moments. The colours chosen fit into the urban landscape without disturbing its characteristic traits.
Antrodoco 2022 “Door 1: 52UNO” – “Door 2: CORSOROMA8UNO ”
Location of piece: Via delle Scuole, 52 and Corso Roma, 8 – Antrodoco (RI)
Description: The ancient doors he painted in Antrodoco left an impression on him because of their simplicity and symmetry. UNO likes to think that both were made by the same person. The drawings he did highlight the geometry, contours and frames that are already present on the doors. The decoration follows these shapes and lines but, at the same time, creates new ones, in a sort of continuum with the original design made by the craftsman who built them.
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