Tour Mario Loprete's Art Studio in Catanzaro - L'Essenziale, Interiors Blog

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It is always captivating to see how artists live and work and today we’ve got a unique opportunity to look “behind the scenes” and virtually visit inside Mario Loprete’s studio in Catanzaro.

Catanzaro is a city of 91000 inhabitants located in the south of Italy. It is the capital of Calabria region and also known as “the city of the two seas”.

Mario was born here and also graduated from Accademia of Belle Arti. He works in a very interesting and unique genre – the world of hip-hop reflected through various media – paintings, sculptures, and graffiti. His creations have been exhibited worldwide – from Los Angeles to New York and from Amsterdam to London.

About art

Here is what Mario says about his art:

“My work focuses on research and documentation of the world of hip-hop. This philosophy of life now is no longer relegated to just u.s.a. boundaries, but rather it can be found at any latitude.

I use as a support of my new works the concrete, as I find it is the link between my project and hip-hop. Concrete as the Internet has cleared all geographical boundaries, it’s a material created by the ancient Romans, but today its modernity and contemporarity indicator.”

About studio

When asked about his studio, Mario humbly called it “disordinatissimo” but this artistic clutter looks very creative and inventive. The walls are decorated with paintings and cement sculptures, easels support the works in process and the clothes rack holds jackets that soon will become the artworks.

Reinforced concrete has become one of the main materials used in Mario Loprete’s creations. As he mentions, despite it was invented thousands of years ago by the Romans, we often associate it with modernity and Western industrialization. Objects made of concrete bring the urban spirit inside homes. Ordinary clothes become unique artworks through a very simple process involving the use of gesso, concrete, and resin. Other curious objects that catch attention are chairs with painted jeans on them. The paintings look so fine and realistic that totally create an illusion of the real pants hanged on the backs of chairs.

Mario Loprete’s paintings look striking and eye-catching. Mostly we can see realistic portraits and various attributes of hip-hop culture – sneakers, scooters, jeans, and baseball caps. His artworks proof the fact that there are no boundaries or borders in the modern world: something that appears and becomes popular on one continent, on the next day can conquer the hearts of people who live thousands of miles away.

From June 1 to September 30 Mario will set up his personal exhibition at the Dadada Beach Museum in Montepaone, the first permanent museum on the beach. The project will be done in collaboration with Roberto Talarico, entrepreneur, and refined Calabrian collector.

To see more updates on Mario Loprete’s artwork follow him on Facebook and Instagram.