Enrico Maria Cartei was born in Florence, Italy, on 3rd September 1968. He is a visual artist, who lives and works in Amsterdam.
He graduated from art school in Florence, the city which has greatly influenced his style and motivated him to pursue the desire to become an artist.
Making art, for him, means creating something that doesn't come just from an idea or a thought, but it is also guided by a feeling, an emotional state, mainly to satisfy the desire to represent his inner visions, rather than the reality that surrounds him.
His process of creation is a compulsive and instinctive act, during which he invents images that fundamentally are created by themselves. He works on layers, starting painting directly on the canvas, improvising, playing with lines and spots of colors, while gradually a shape or a shadow is detected and he starts developing it.
The subjects he represents have a fascinating appearance, characterized by an incredible expressiveness and poetry.
People faces, children riding animals and nature, with the main purpose to uncover our fears, emotions and dreams, in order to inspire to use a positive approach towards everything that happens in our lives.
They want induce the spectator to make a reflection about what happen in our day life. The political and social events that characterize our difficult times, the way we react to them and the mental approach we have, are the raw material from which he draws inspiration.
The subjects represented, give the sensation of questioning us, with the intent to read our soul to perceive our inner essence.
What do we do to improve our life? What do we do for others? How do we love? Are we capable to truly change ourselves for the benefit of every single being?
Those are the questions that drive his creative process, with the main purpose to induce us to think about how we can create a better future, living in harmony with everything that’s surrounds us.
He says: "I don't feel satisfaction doing things, which I already know how they will look like. I intentionally change my way to work, in order to surprise and impress, first of all, myself. However, my intention is to transmit a positive energy, a message to love life, to be wise and willing to fight and compromise ourselves for a better world.
For me art is being romantic, passionate and alive. I love art when is pure and genuine; made anyhow and anywhere.
Art makes you laugh and cry; it raises questions and sometimes gives answers. Art reveals what we truly are, that's why is magic."
His works have been exhibited in Italy, Brazil and Netherlands, where he continues to promote his work, collaborating with galleries and local artists.