Maria Rosaria aka Ada

The painting depicts Maria Rosaria (called Ada), the artist’s mother.

Derived from a 1963 photograph, the woman’s face is composed of 6 overlapping layers of iron, painted in acrylic.
Opened in the center by an iron plate-corresponding to the blouse, skirt, and belt-the overcoat is a machined olive tree trunk, into which 33 embossed steel flowers are grafted. Each flower consists of a series of iron wires, interlocked with each other and embedded in the wood, and rests on a series of cuts in the trunk (the corresponding leaves).

Note the detail of the watch (acrylic on iron) sticking out of the woman’s right sleeve. The brown background is inspired by the sepia color of old photographs, the original reference of the subject depicted.

Characteristic of the artist, the light outside the painting always has a semantic significance. Here it focuses on the face of the deceased mother and reveals the strength she had in life.