Giuseppe MUSCIO

I was born in Orta Nova, a small town situated in the historical and cultural region of Apulia, where as a child I played in my grandfather’s vineyard. I was fascinated by the majestic landscape around me and realised that I was born to be an artist and painter. If I close my eyes, I still can smell the perfume of the rows of vines, the fragrance of the olives and the almonds. I immediately began to reproduce what I could see onto drawing sheets, which my grandfather would give me. Soon, I moved to Milan with my family, leaving behind my roots and my love for the region. I was passionate about painting; I studied the painting’s techniques of the greatest painters of 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. I also experimented with various painting techniques using scientific methods.
I met great Masters such as Giorgio De Chirico, Domenico Cantatore, Renato Guttuso.I went to their studios where I learned new techniques and saw new ideas thus improving my pictorial knowledge and skills. When I look at ancient works of art, I try to see beyond the image my eyes perceive in order to understand the mood and the feelings the artist wanted to impress on the canvas. It is poetry and sensitivity that I want to see when I look at my paintings, because only in this way I can feel satisfied and gratified. My subjects are women’s nudes and various objects such as bottles, cups and fruits placed in quiet shadowy corners and on old tables. I am mysteriously attracted to and fascinated by the world of objects. In particular, when painting still objects, I try to feel their thrill empathizing with the mute revelation, which makes you consider them from a different point of view, evoking unexpected emotions. The secret charm is not a casual aspect of a determined moment: it is their quality that invites me to define their outlines and their images in full harmony, thus creating a warm realism. Besides portraying it I aim at emphasizing the atmosphere poetically, sometimes magically. I also draw inspiration from artistic nudes. In the wake of Hegel, I believe that an artist can simply use the face and the poses. My paintings of nude subjects represent the true principle of the eternal poetry about woman and they are more spiritual than physical. In addition, I have a passion for music, especially for jazz. I remember an evening out in a fashionable area of Milan (at the well-known old Motta’s), when I saw a jazz quartet play some music. It was love at first sight. I had a chat with Maestro Poggi, a percussionist and kettledrummer at RAI. I asked him to give me lessons, he accepted and invited me to his studio, where he said to me nicely: ‘Come on, show me what you can do ...’ At the end of my performance he said: ‘You’re fantastic! You can handle the drumsticks better than a circus juggler and you play like an American.  You are an excellent player! He said that I didn’t need any classes. Later, when I started going to Capolinea’s in Milan (an international meeting place for world-known musicians), I met Tullio Depiscopo and Enrico Lucchini, both great drummers. I studied with them for a few years and then I was working as a professional drummer.
I am still keen on music, which is with me while painting.
Giuseppe MUSCIO