A New Altar

Coloured pencil and ink pen on paper

24×33 cm / 9.4×13 in, 2021

Available – €300

A New Altar represents the interior of the Chiesa Madre in Craco.

I wanted to start from a place capable of symbolizing the entire abandoned town. The church, which for centuries had been one of the centers of village life, now appears empty, damaged, marked by time and abandonment.

Where the altar once stood, the roof has opened and light has entered from above. Right there, thanks to the sun’s rays, vegetation has grown until it occupies the central point of the church, taking the place of the altar.

It is essentially a painting that created itself: randomness enters a space built around the idea of a divine plan and, without any plan, takes its place. Chaos stands against the sacred, and nature replaces the religious symbol.

It was simply too beautiful an image not to draw.