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SCMP Reporter

ITALIAN artist Cecco Bonanotte cannot remember a time when he did not have a chisel or brush in his hands.

  Having observed his father craft things every day, it was only natural for Bonanotte to follow suit.

  ''It was normal to see and appreciate it. It was what my father was doing. He kept copies of the old masters at home and I would open the drawer and look at them every day,'' he said.

  Art was in the family. His brother pursued art, and it was unthinkable for Bonanotte to do anything other than go to art school and eventually pursue a profession in art.

  Sculpture also seemed the natural choice for him.

  His artistic themes could not have been expressed well in any other medium, he said.

  ''Some forms can't come out from other materials,'' he said. ''Each form has its own technical world that must be put into shape.''   Despite the heavy materials he uses (bronze, silver) his technique is soft, fragile, and subtle.

   Bonanotte uses a special process of welding with a fusion of beeswax, that he feels best captures this quality.

  He depicts figures, frozen faces and bodies stock still, often on tightropes, searching for a balance amid a backdrop of ragged edges and gaps.

  Searching for inspiration has never been a problem for Bonanotte. He finds it every day when he wakes at 5 am and continues working for 12 or 14 hours.

  ''People think there is a sudden magical moment of creation, as though artists sit and wait for a moment of inspiration.

  ''It is the opposite process. The work of an artist is that of a craftsman. It is a daily acceptance, a ritual,'' he explained.

  Even after years of sculpting, Bonanotte often encounters his work in the morning and thinks that he must change everything. Other times, he is satisfied and can truly say a work is finished.

  ''I am asking myself all the time where my work is going. If I was certain about it, I would stop being an artist. Sometimes it is fascinating to know where the work is leading me,'' he said.

  While Bonanotte's work is based on variations on a theme - that of balance in life, he is never bored by it.

  ''My work can be said to be repetitive, but that is what makes me happy. Sometimes it makes me happy and at other times it is a torment,'' he said.

  The duality of life is a subject Bonanotte can talk about at length.

  ''What is life but both positive and negative?''  His collection of 40 sculptures and eight paintings reflects this desire to portray the positive and negative.

 Bonanotte's works convey controversy, a theme that has run since his first solo exhibition, aged 29, in 1971.

Cecco Bonanotte's exhibition is on display at The Rotunda at Exchange Square until February 28.



Sculpting reality in silver