Matteo Cocci’s art reminds us of the power of innocence that we all seem to lose when we grow up and allow the stresses of the world to infiltrate our innate yearning for purity. Matteo uses an invented technique that is quite intricate in execution but simple in product to show how unpretentious beautiful art can still exist side by side with overly conceptual and want-to-be intellectual expression. Style.No.Chaser stands up to applaud Matteo because we believe that his cause is a noble one and we know that as more people are exposed to his work, the innocence we all miss will slowly find its way back into our psyches.
“My works are made using an invented technique. I use pieces of paper designed and …”
Please tell us a little about yourself – your childhood, siblings, where you grew up, what you liked as a child, strange thoughts as a child/now, unique attributes, where you live now, etc.?
I grew up in a small town in the suburbs of Tuscany, where I still live today. I am an only child – as a child I spent a lot of time alone, I liked to go around exploring the countryside. I spent most of my days after school with horses, dogs, chickens, turkeys. Then I played soccer in the church square. I also drew a lot.
How do you describe your form of art and what tools do you primarily use?
My works are made using an invented technique. I use pieces of paper designed and worked by myself and I overlap them on wood or on paper, one piece on top of another until I consider the work finished (if a work of art can ever be considered finished).
What does your art mean to you?
It is the time when I do the only thing I like to do.
Your images have a sophisticated simplistic and very inviting excellence to them – can you expand on what you want viewers to experience from your work, the symbolism behind it and also how you came up with this unique style?
I want the viewer of my work to witness something unusual but understandable, familiar but to which they had never thought about. I want to make people smile. I came to this style because it is what I would like to see in an image.
What is the worst critique you have ever received about your work? What is the best compliment that you have received about your work?
The worst critique I have received is that my work is for children; the best is that my work is for children.
Which artist/s do you look up to the most?
I look up to the artists of the twentieth century, mostly Dubuffet, Matisse and Klee, and the Italian Domenico Gnoli. I like the illustrators of books that I buy for my daughters, especially the Japanese ones.
Since Style.No.Chaser is a men’s lifestyle magazine, what attributes/items/clothing /etc. do you think define a man?
I think that the style of a man is given by his behavior and his attitude.
What is your personal life philosophy?
Live and let live.
What would you want your last meal to be?
Florentine steak and red wine.
Who dead or alive, celebrity or not, artist or not, would you like to go on a two week road trip with and why?
Aki Kaurismaki and the Leningrad Cowboys because I know we have the same taste for places to stop.
What type of music do you listen to (if at all) when working?
I listen to music of all kinds but not while I am working because it influences me. I really like the origins of jazz and punk rock as well as the Italian music of singer-songwriters.
How can people learn more about (or buy) your current and upcoming works?
To learn about and buy my work you can do so through my website.
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