Davide Monaldi

Davide Monaldi was born in San Benedetto del Tronto in 1983. His educational journey begins at the artistic high school, where encouraged by his painting teacher to engage with other artists and explore foreign realities, Davide Monaldi, in addition to studying sculpture at the Libera Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, gains his first experiences abroad, first in Salzburg, studying one summer with Ilya Kabakov, and then attending the Central Saint Martin School of Art and Design in London. Enrolled in the illustration course, Davide does not abandon sculpture and continues to cultivate a talent rooted in his childhood. Quietly, he begins to take an interest in ceramics, a courageous material, as some critics would say, considering terracotta to be a minor or at most applied art; and while it is true that ceramics are more commonly known as decorative art rather than sculpture, it requires a great deal of creativity, precision, care, and experimentation. “It is something I am satisfied with; I am not a virtuoso of technique; mine has been a mission, a will driven by the desire not to delegate to anyone.”

His artistic production in relation to materials has evolved over time; his early works are a precise investigation of the self, expressed through a series of portraits that are always different: “I am the subject I am most closely connected to, whom I know best. I know which elements define me, and I can transfer emotions into my work that I might not otherwise be able to communicate.” Subsequently, his artistic production has evolved toward a more installation-based and more ironic use of materials, as seen in works like Eleastici (2015), Carta da Parati (2015), and Canestro da basket con uccellino (2013), the latter of which is part of the Giuseppe Iannaccone Collection.

Throughout all this, the spirit of Davide Monaldi’s sculptures remains unchanged. “In my works, there are always contrasting emotions. There are never desperate emotions, nor are there completely happy ones. Even if I approach a work with happiness, a vein of melancholy is always present and vice versa. I don’t believe it’s possible to create a work that expresses only one feeling. I feel this way in life; any sensation is mitigated by the opposing feeling. Pure happiness is felt only in childhood; then, as we grow, we can no longer experience a single, absolute emotion. I am this way in life, and I am this way in my work—somewhat bittersweet.”