The cathedral dome, in a mural in the town centre

The artist is Fabrizio Musa, from Como, who created his expressive style on the use of black and white, as stylistic choice. The work, which can be found in the town centre, in Via Vittorio Emanuele 40, depicts the dome of Como Cathedral, from a particular angle, and it makes a number of references to the Cathedral, 50 metres away.

The work, which was produced in September and October, is about 15 metres high and 5 metres wide, is on the upper part of the building, and plays with the perception of the viewer, who is invited to look up, to be given the impression that he is looking in a mirror at the baroque dome, designed by Filippo Juvarra, which is just behind him. Fabrizio Musa is not new to the art of painting murals. Indeed, in Como, he created two works in Via Carloni and one in Via Ballarini (which is no longer visible), dedicated to the architectural creations of another genius from Como, Giuseppe Terragni.

“This work, in its perspective and proportions, mirrors a real vision of architecture which was specifically designed to be enjoyed from the street,” Fabrizio Musa said. The work was commissioned by Michela Testoni, to celebrate and remember some of her ancestors who lived in that building and who fought for Italy during the third War of Independence and in the two World Wars. In particular, Captain Giovanni Scotti, who was deported to the Nazi concentration camps, and the warrant officer of the carabinieri Togo Testoni, who was also deported to Germany, and held from 1943 to 1945.

THE ARTIST

Fabrizio Musa, (Como 1971) lives and works in Como and New York. Since his artistic debut, in the second half of the 1990s, he has contaminated his more traditional painting techniques with new technologies. His approach includes a multitude of techniques and, on a number of occasions, he has been linked to architecture. Since 2008, he has collaborated with the architect Mario Botta on a project of reproducing his works in paintings, which have already appeared in a number of personal exhibitions: “Chiesa del Santo Volto.Txt” in Turin, on the occasion of the XXIII World Congress of Architecture, in 2008, the exhibition “Mario Botta.Txt” in the Montrasio Art Gallery in Monza, and “Culture Nature – Botta.Txt” at the Venice Biennale, 12^th International Exhibition of Architecture, in 2010. His latest personal exhibitions include “The Kiss”, at CJ One Gallery in New York, organised by Cindy J. Choi, “Fabrizio Musa Campoquadro”, in the Civic Art Gallery, in Como, the Video Installation (public artwork) “Terragni 80”, which was projected onto the “Casa del Fascio” in Como, the participation in the exhibition “Antonio Sant’Elia, all’origine del Progetto” in the Civic Art Gallery, in Como, and the personal “Terragni.txt” exhibitions in the new headquarters of the Terragni Archive, inside the Novocomum building, in Como.