painting action
July 7, 2016, Atelier Montez, Rome – With the arrival of the summer of 2016, Gio Montez initiated a radical and overtly pragmatic painting action conceived and realised within his Atelier Montez. The action short-circuited artistic production, economic necessity, and direct public participation, transforming the studio itself into an operative instrument of survival and creation.
the creative process
During the action, the public was not merely a passive audience, but an active part of the creative process. It was possible to intervene indirectly in the work by “commissioning live” specific portions of the painting, chromatic choices, or desired material effects. Montez defined this approach as “liquid”, devoid of any predetermined form and capable of adapting to the demands of the client, in open opposition to the notion of the artwork as a closed and definitive object.
Etimology : Liquidazione
liquidation n. (from to liquidate)
1. a. In general, in economic and legal terminology, the set of operations that leads to the settlement or resolution of property relations, or to the realisation of individual assets or entire estates.
b. More broadly, the determination of accounts or credit claims; the assessment of the effective value of a right; the calculation of amounts owed and due arising from an employment relationship at the time of its termination, and similar cases, generally followed by the closing of the account and payment of the sums due.
c. In common usage, the sum itself that is paid, especially with reference to severance pay or end-of-service compensation (generally consisting of a portion of deferred salary, proportional to the number of years worked), paid to the worker upon termination of employment.
d. Liquidation sale, clearance sale of goods at prices lower than those normally applied.
e. In a figurative sense (cf. *to liquidate*), the act of rendering someone inefficient or harmless, depriving them of the ability to react.
2. An operation carried out in the final stage of soap production (hence called *liquidated soaps*), consisting of adding first sodium chloride and then water to soap freed from lye, until the soap returns to a sol state and a homogeneous mass is obtained.
the monumental canvas sold on paper
The title LIQUIDATION thus takes on a double meaning: on the one hand, the fluid and negotiable use of painting; on the other, an explicit economic strategy. The artist decided to sell the canvas “on paper” offering it at a lower cost than finished works, with a price calculated per square meter rather than as a completed object. Purchasing a work “on paper” functioned as a preliminary contract with the artist, established before the work was completed—and in some cases even before painting had begun—providing tangible advantages: reduced prices (up to 30% less), a high degree of customisation, and the use of contemporary materials.
Liquid gold on liquidation
From a technical standpoint, Montez prepared the surface by stripping cement and plaster, then worked exclusively with bitumen and ivory black oil paint, both materials of absolute black. Through dilution, the artist achieved a wide range of intermediate tones between ochre and gray, shaping a kind of landscape he ironically titled “Babylon”. The use of a flammable synthetic thinner also introduced combustion on canvas into the process, integrating ash and soot as pigments, in a direct reference to the petroleum-based nature of bitumen.
drawing boundaries on matter
Alongside the canvas, the artist placed coloured chalks, allowing interested collectors to physically mark and delineate the portion of the painting they wished to pre-purchase, drawing its boundaries directly on the surface. Montez committed to completing the sold sections at a later stage, stretching them onto frames and delivering them to their respective buyers.
a virtual sold out
The action proved to be a major success: the canvas was virtually sold out. Among the private collectors who divided the work while it was still unfinished, a significant portion was acquired by APS S.p.A., a leading company in the construction of petroleum refining machinery. The completed works delivered to APS were subsequently used to furnish new residential spaces intended for the company’s international clients, hosted in Rome for the design and purchase of refining plants.
- Titolo della serie: Liquidazione – SERIE NR. 70716
- Artista: Gio Montez
- Anno di creazione: 2016
- Tecnica: Ferro, cemento Portland, IG21, bitume, olio e vernice lavabile su tela durante la combustione
- Dimensioni: 36 opere, varie dimensioni
