Introduction: OLYMP'ARTS 2023 will be held on October 5th at the Zappeion Megaron in Athens, Greece. Recently, we will launch a series of interviews with global artists. In the second episode, we present to you Emilio Isgrò , one of the most acclaimed Italian artists internationally.

"When I erase a book, I'll have a nostalgic emotion about the content of the book."

——Emilio Isgrò

The universal beauty carried by art brings the world together and unites it. OLYMP'ARTS 2023 Opening Ceremony will be held on October 5, 2023 at the Zappeion in Athens, Greece, where artists and art enthusiasts from around the world will gather around. Before the opening ceremony, we have visited artists from various fields around the world and will gradually release a series of artist interviews, focusing on the "Environment, Climate, and Energy" theme of OLYMP'ARTS 2023, to share art perspectives from around the world, aiming to connect the world through art and illuminate it with art.

This episode features an interview with one of the most acclaimed Italian artists, Emilio Isgrò.

Isgrò is famous for his representative "erasing" technique, which was created in the background of the so-called second avant-garde movement in the 1960s, and is the most revolutionary and original artistic language. For him, erasing text is not just a simple destruction. He stated in the interview that "the moment of erasure is also the moment of construction."

One of the most famous Italian artists, Emilio Isgrò

Emilio Isgrò's "erasure" creation began in 1964. He used black ink to cancel out the great classics of world literature, including Dante's "Divine Comedy" and Shakespeare's tragedies, as well as various newspapers and articles. Later on, he extended his work to encyclopedias, maps, and globes. "We have been taught such a rich vocabulary that we no longer read it. But if they are taken away from us, we will rediscover their full power and strength." Isgrò's explanation partly explains his original intention for his creation and why his work on "erasure" has continued for such a long time. As a visual artist, Emilio Isgrò is also a poet, novelist, and filmmaker. In a sense, "erasure" is also a pivot for all of his other studies.

Some of Emilio Isgrò's Works:

La Testa di Pitagora 2006 / 80 x 121 x 8 cm

Mattino d'agosto 2010 / 70 x 100 cm

Perugia Italia 1997 / 27 x 22 cm

Where is Acapulco? 2016 / 46.5 x 29.5 x 29.5 cm

Emilio Isgrò participated in the Venice Biennale four times, in 1972, 1978, 1986, and 1993. He won the first prize at the São Paulo Biennial in 1977. He has also held important events and exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1992, the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation in Venice in 1994, and the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art in Prato in 2008. Isgrò's works are collected by important institutions such as the Pompidou. Perhaps the reason why Isgrò's works are popular and acclaimed worldwide is that the audience can resonate with them the most. As curator Dalia Gallico mentioned in the exhibition article, "In Isgrò's creative process, the goals of erasing, magnifying, hiding, and removing are the same: beauty, identity, essence, and contemporaneity."

Executive President of the WOAC, Rachel Qin and Emilio Isgrò

In the spring of 2023, the Executive President of the WOAC, Rachel Qin, and the President of the Advisory Committee of the WOAC, Michele Genoves, visited Milan and came to the place where this Sicilian artist has been creating since the 1950s. They awarded Isgrò with the OLYMP'ARTS Expert Committee Certificate on the spot and invited him to help promote the OLYMP'ARTS globally. Regarding the theme of the OLYMP'ARTS 2023, "Environment, Climate, and Energy," Isgrò said that he is also very concerned about related issues. Although the earth has suffered some damage and human survival faces some challenges, "I firmly believe that we can emerge from this storm. Therefore, our efforts to protect and maintain the health of the planet mean that we are preparing for a peaceful world," said Isgrò confidently.