Mixed Media: Maurizio Anzeri

Italian-born artist Maurizio Anzeri reconstructs found vintage photographs by embroidering abstract designs directly onto the images. The sewing threads, often selected for their slight sheen or glimmer, contrast with the smokey portrait photographs. The intricate detailing and combination of materials work to evoke a particular aura, and in some cases hint at the psychological vantage point of a subject. What results is a muddling of boundaries: between two and three-dimensionality, between observer and observed, between masking and revealing, between tactility and fixedness, between past and present. Anzeri has exhibited internationally and is currently based in London, England.

Arianna, 2011
Embroidery on Photograph, 17 x 14 in.
© Maurizio Anzeri

Twins, 2011
Embroidery on Photograph, 14 x 17 in.
© Maurizio Anzeri

Untitled, MakeUp
Oil Painting, Thread, Glass, Wood, 35 x 28 in.
© Maurizio Anzeri

Luca, 2011
Embroidery on Photograph, 9 x 7 in.
© Maurizio Anzeri

Marianna, 2010
Embroidery on Photograph, 9 x 7 in.
© Maurizio Anzeri

Arianne Di Nardo is a freelance Editor of Photography and the former Assistant Editor at FANTOM Photographic Quarterly / Fantom Editions, and OSMOS Books & OSMOS Magazine. She studied Cinema at the University of Western Ontario and is currently based in some place or another.

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