Alessandro Di Cola

Dante Maffìa

At a time when the crisis of art is overwhelmed by an avalanche of ambiguity leading to further crises and disorientation, the works of Alessandro Di Cola are a comfort indeed. This obviously does not express a critical judgment, but rather a pleasure that assumes, at least in my case, a long and passionate familiarity with that ever-so problematic world of sculpture The impact of Di Cola’s work is at once violent and intriguing, rather like waves of music erupting forth, overpowering the viewer into submission, converging. Here, we are clearly talking about unconventional vibrations where the substance opens into the absolute and for this reason it sometimes seems as though we are in the midst of turbulent swift-paced scenes. I have always been convinced that one cannot create great art if not possessed of a great spiritual strength and an ethical rigor that drives one to cross over into the shadow of mystery rendering it visible through chinks of light that the volumes illuminate and give harmony to.. Di Cola has within him a never-ending restlessness. When he enters the creative dimension he is able to blend both long-since acquired and refined techniques as well as the enrapture that comes from a natural oneness with his subject. 
And while it is true that nature has endowed him with remarkable sculptural talent, he has worked assiduously to achieve the present results which are so full of turmoil and vibrancy. Talking to our sculptor, we realize immediately that he has a prehensile look that lets nothing go unnoticed, Within him, shapes acquire a need for human relationship where this longing brings harmony and relief - and assimilation takes place within a precious cultural and intellectual framework. State of Grace. There is the desire to bring about communion between what the world offers; Nature and induced pressures.  I think this is what it must always be -or at least-should-be –a happy combination leading to synthesis and representations that then allow you to conduct frank and honest talks with the Muses. If you are attentive, certain details of Di Cola’s works suggest a restless or even a yearning Di Cola, permeated with a vivaciousness that continuously moves the axis toward greater important harmonies that observe the figurative with a practiced eye.
Alessandro Di Cola, it goes without saying, intends to follow his infinite romance with sculpture as if it were a poetic diary pointing to the future both in terms of diversification of volumes and accents memorials  Let us say that what usually impresses us in sculptors is their dexterity taken to the extreme limit, the obsession to shape, subtract, free the substance from the lumps of lifelessness and give it a soul. Di Cola impresses above all because of the carnal aspect with which he lives and brings to life the hidden essence of matter.  I do not know if he, like Michelangelo, can already perceive in shapeless mass that which will be born from it, but it is certain that when he stands before any sculptural topic, he can feel his hand trembling, his heart beating, the sensors of his body taking flight.  Metaphors aside, there is great deal of life in Di Cola’s sculptures that enchant and sing, play, hinting at the enjoyment that comes as a message of human and social growth.
The first time I saw his works I wondered if he was still under the influence of his teacher.  Bruno Liberatore’s relationship with his students does not pass unobserved, but I quickly realized that Alexander was able to transform those lessons in personal baggage, and as personal baggage he has brought with him the experiences of Giuseppe Mannino who lead him to the harmonies joining writing and image. But I find that Alessandro’s most recent works have achieved a complete personality, an ideal embodiment in which fully mirror the qualities and ideal instances that drive him toward goals that will prove to be important. The mixed media on sewn jute are at once fascinating and unsettling, chafing the soul while in the same instant leading to curiosity, to compliance. These are works behind which the figurative has a rotating movement, diversified, impossible to grasp as a whole. 
The speed of the vortex appears to be the mainstay of many works, whether they are made from paper, aluminum, wax or bronze. I am tempted to look for sources which have inspired Alessandro Di Cola, but it would be a futile effort, because he has the quality to bring himself, totally, into his works to the point of making them part of his body and soul. It is not an exaggeration to say that he communicates with the substance, he loves it, rapes it and takes its breath forcing it to surrender and thus transforms it into a valuable companion. I would say that we cannot exclude from Alexander’s path genuine ecstasy which give birth to those three-dimensional structures. Suffice it to say that he is one of the few young people able to find a magical place which puts old in tune with the new while struggling not to fall into the status quo of convention. I think this shows the magnitude of a quest and dramatic haste towards a poetic sense of Form, the warm side of the Form, the principle which binds mass and volume in delirious discourse when they feel the burst of a new sense of being, of renewal of styles and structures.

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