THE STATEMENT

I believe every human being is much more than what other people can see, and even much more than what others may actually know or can guess or perceive.

But interestingly enough, every person is even way more than what she actually knows about herself! The human Mind is a labyrinth of unconscious conflicts, fears and stories; while the Soul, where the talents and dreams live, is usually kept so hidden any person rarely gets to know it completely in a lifetime.

This “unconscious complexity” gives life to an inner conflict between the desire to shine and the fears that hold a person back. This conflict deeply fascinates me because it manifests differently in each person. With my art, I give a shape to this eternal battle between Ego and Soul.

I usually depict what I sense in other people both at a conscious and unconscious level: my aim is to go beyond what I can see and rationally understand of a person, trying to expose her wholeness. My process involves connecting energetically to the Ego and the Spirit of a person and allowing the colours to fill the canvas from that space. This usually comes in the form of a portrait, and it is completed by some abstract elements, which is my subconscious expressing what it perceives without myself trying to interfere.

Sometimes I also connect to myself to reflect about my own journey. In this case the final work is typically just abstract, expressing what my words can’t explain. Most of the time I’m conscious during the whole process, but occasionally I may fall into a trance state. I become a channel for a message from somewhere else.

I work in acrylics. The way they melt together and allow me to paint different layers very quickly works organically with my creative process. I usually finish a painting by adding random splats of colour. These represent the uniqueness in every person. This also creates an adrenaline rush from the knowledge that I could ruin a good work in just few seconds.

THE BIOGRAPHY

Emanuele “Renton” Fortunati is a mixed media artist who, for a long time, disguised himself as a computer programmer.

Born in the ‘80s in Milan, Italy, Emanuele loved art from a very young age, but his insecurity about his talent for drawing and painting persuaded him to direct his energies towards the security of robotics and informatics. Shortly after his graduation, life set up one of the hardest test of his life – the sudden death of his mum, to whom he was very close.
Seeking to escape, Emanuele left home at the age of 24 and moved to London where he soon fell in love with the vibrant energy of the underground art scene. The forgotten artist hidden in the heart of the computer engineer started to cry for attention, an existential battle which led Emanuele into depression. In this darkness, he knew had to choose between security or a journey to find and pacify his demons and set free his heart.

Today, Emanuele lives with his wife and children in a small town in the mountains of Catalunya, Spain, where he paints, writes, runs and uses the power of Art to help people to connect with their own Spirit and power.