Maria Grazia Pontorno

Born in Catania in 1978. Lives in Rome 

Thanks to the use of 3d technology and sophisticated video animation programmes, Maria Grazia Pontorno's images appear highly realistic, even though they belong to the world of fiction. Concentrating her attention on natural elements, such as plants, flowers, landscapes, the artist makes ‘paintings' using the impalpable material of pixels, modelled to obtain the image she wants. The artificial reproduction of natural movements, such as those produced by the wind, becomes a way of reflecting on the aesthetic possibilities of technology as well as natural as opposed to digital time.The completed works are projected onto the wall as real digital frescoes or exported on lambda prints, through which they become unique exemplars. The video animations virtually reconstruct gardens, such as that of the rose collector Maresa del Bufalo, or serve as ‘impossible postcards,' the memory of landscapes by now irremediably marred by building speculation. (A.T.)