Art is an extraordinary communication tool. Immediate, essential, it condenses complex colours into symbols. Every colour, every nuance and combination are essential accessories to build an intuitive message, before it’s thought of. Art is also an extraordinary vehicle for talking about our relationship with nature, communicating the need we have for it, its incredible beauty which is an integral, though not yet fully recognized, part of our well-being. Art can be a powerful tool to bring people closer to the natural world and become attached to it. It can intrigue them. For Human Wildlife Interaction as well, art represents a precious ally. Maurizio Boscheri, a traveler who has always been in love with the natural world, began painting as a self-taught artist in 1997, recounting the wonder of nature with the enthusiasm of those who find in it a precious treasure. After numerous exhibitions in international galleries such as the Art Expo, New York, the Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi, Paris, Cairo, Dubai, Shanghai, Colombo and Vienna, Maurizio is being invited to exhibit his works of art in scientific museums, precisely for their great power to fascinate and bring the public closer to the magic of nature.
Many of your paintings are a sort of ‘dreamlike vision’ and with their bright colours and precious details, recall certain works by natives of Australia, renowned for their relationship with nature. What is the main aspect of the animals that you want to bring out with your paintings?
D- n I chose to paint endangered animals, including the smallest ones or animals whose relationship with humans is complex, such as large predators, because I’d like my work to be a powerful communication tool, to clearly transmit, through colours and symbols, the sense of urgency to preserve and protect what has the power to excite us and make us happy with such beauty.
What is the thing that fascinates you most about the animals that you have drawn such as tigers or leopards and what scares you most and how do you represent these sensations in your paintings. In which details can we find them?
R- I am very fascinated by the rituals of the animal world, their organization, their responses to the difficult struggle for life. In the painting “Mato Grosso” two jaguars are represented in an extremely aggressive pose, in the moment that precedes the mating, which it will be short and the detachment will be equally aggressive. “The bullring” shows two Indian roosters in combat, only the winner will have the possession of the females, thus passing on their genes to their offspring. Another fascinating ritual and in this case without a physical clash, is that of “Paradisaea raggiana”. The males exhibit themselves in a parade of unique beauty, showing off their very richly-coloured plumage in a dance designed specifically to attract the female who, always attending the parade, will choose her partner, this being the one who will have given the most in his singing and dancing. Nothing scares me in the animal kingdom, every dynamic is regulated by fascinating laws. What really frightens me, on the other hand, is witnessing its rapid erosion caused by greed, the greed of the human species.
If you had to define our relationship with animals such as elephants, lions, leopards, wolves and bears, including those as reported by the media today, (in a disastrous and dramatic fashion), which colour and which symbols would you use and why?
aR – Unfortunately, the animals you mentioned have very complex interactions with humans and the consequences of these interactions are often problematic. The media exploit this complexity, often describing them as lethal enemies of humankind, in a conflict that is made to appear voluntary when animals have no desire to negatively impact on human activities such as agriculture or pastoralism. It is mistakenly painted almost like a war and I would therefore use red to describe the urgency of finding solutions to these issues.
How, in your life / experience, has art been important in defining the relationship you have with nature today?
aR – Art came to me when I was halfway through my life, following a period of great stress, perhaps caused by overwork. I realized that painting helped me calm down, and my surprise was enormous when I realized that I had a talent that had never manifested itself before. So I decided to change radically and make it a mission. Likewise, it has become a mission for me to paint endangered animals. In my own way. by fixing them on the canvas, I want to assure them a sort of immortality. So I live my painting of nature as a ‘creative’ way of doing conservation.
What role do you think that art, unlike writing, can play, for example, in promoting relationships or in arousing interest in wildlife?
aR- Visual art has a different impact. It goes straight to the heart, passing directly from the eyes to the brain and without interference. Its effectiveness in being able to deliver this message, however, depends on the sensitivity and ability of the artist. I hope I’m able to achieve this through my works in which, capturing the animals in their natural attitudes, in their rituals, in their daily challenges, I encapsulate the story of how they have always been our travel companions, similar to us in some ways, and yet so enchantingly different. I hope this visual story can bring people closer to their world, familiarize them with the similarities and differences and make them feel like a sort of ‘tenants from the village next door’.
Which values do your paintings bear with reference to nature?
aR- Respect above all. We’ve arrived at the present together, our paths have crossed and overlapped. Their right to be in this world is thus the same as ours, as is that of living and loving for life’s continuity.
If a leopard were to paint you what colours and which symbols would it use?
aR- I would hope it could see me as if in a mirror, without fear. And paint me with all the colors of the rainbow.
One final, obvious but necessary question: what is your favourite subject to paint and why?
aR- to tell you the truth I don’t have a favourite subject, I love big, beautiful predators such as wolves, tigers and leopards, but in the same way I love the colourful world of the small ones like frogs, insects and birds. But I have my periods, those of hair, feathers or elytra, as well as having periods of colour, for example when I am inspired by white when I happen to paint a white tiger, or a simple cabbage white butterfly.
Maurizio Boscheri
Maurizio Boscheri started painting as a self-taught in 1997. In 2011 he participated in the 54th Venice Biennale, “Art is not our thing” and was included among the international artists to represent the chapter “Transavanguardia” in the volume “Animali nell’Arte” published by Skira. In 2014 he exhibited BiodivestitArt at MUSE, the Science Museum of Trento, and published the volume of the same title containing about fifty works. In 2016 he exhibited at the Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi, Pakistan and created a permanent mural at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. In 2017 he participated in the Karachi Biennale with the Reel on Hai project. Some of his works have been sold at auctions held by Sotheby’s in Lisbon. Today, his works are present in numerous private collections, institutions and museums, both in Italy and abroad. Born in Mezzolombardo di Trento on 5th May 1955, today he lives in Rovereto (TN) and in Galle in Sri Lanka, where he works in his atelier, immersed in the lush greenery of the island. He exhibits in Villa Borghese, Rome – the Teatro Smeraldo, Milan – the Cà la Ghironda Museum of Modern, Classic and Contemporary Art, Bologna – the Torre Branca, Milan – Villa Caldogno, Vicenza – Art Expo, New York – ArtePadova – the MUSE, Trento and the Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi as well as international Galleries in the USA, Paris, Cairo, Dubai, Shanghai, Colombo, Vienna, Karachi and in some Italian galleries with an international scope, also alongside Ligabue, Keith Haring, Francis Bacon, Folon and others.
