Born in 1969, Matteo Pugliese is a prominent contemporary sculptor who has earned widepopularity in Europe during the last decade. A self-taught artist with a Modern Literature degreefrom the University of Milan, Pugliese has since 2001 dedicated himself to sculpture creation, bynow he has had over thirty solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad.
Pugliese’s figurative sculptures masterfully synthesize classical realism, contemporarysensibilities and revolutionary concepts. He keeps exploring new frontiers of contemporarysculpture through his unique language, combining classic materials like bronze and marblewith modern elements, merging anatomical precision with expressive dynamism, and bridgingpersonal emotions with universal values.
Pugliese's works are imbued with emotional authenticity. Bearing the imprint of life from hishand, his works capture intense psychological dimensions that invoke our shared experience,inviting viewers to face their own fears, desires, joy and beliefs.
In Pugliese’s celebrated “Extra Moenia” series, human faces and limbs are caged in silent andruthless walls, the deep wrinkles around the closed eyes are murmuring of pains buried at thebottom of soul, each tightly stretched tissue reveals a kind of innate uncompromisingdetermination to fight for freedom. In over twenty years, this series discovers numerous facadesof our struggle against the endless constraints in which we are all trapped.
Daimon (Demon), 2018, bronze, 210 x 116 x 31 cm, Ed # 7/7
All figures that are fighting against the prison walls have classical heroic facial features,masculine and yet fascinatingly beautiful. The fleeting moments of an everlasting war areengraved on the delicate boundary between existence and nothingness.These figures, rooted in the sculptural tradition since Michelangelo, are anatomically preciseand full of vitality and movement. The complex, layered texture of bronze, created by multiplepatinas and the imprints from the artist’s hand, stands as a haunting mementos of enduranceand free will.
Swiss Guardian II,2020, bronze, terracotta, Swiss coins out of circulation, 63 x 31.5 x 21 cm, Ed # 6/7
Pugliese’s “Guardians” stand in stark, exuding an aura of serenity and inner strength. With theirfull bellies, exaggerated feet, and armored with unraised weapons, these figures embodyresilience and fortitude.
Since the 1990s, Pugliese has drawn inspiration from a diverse array of cultures and spiritualtraditions, including Tibetan, Mayan, Egyptian, Japanese, American, and African. Byincorporating totemic protector figures from these civilizations, he taps into universal humandesires for spiritual protection and the safeguarding of home.
Adorned with intricate details such as chainmail armor, straps, coins, and screws, the Guardiansact as spiritual protectors, reviving the essence of diverse cultures amidst globalization.
These figures are made of clay, bronze or ceramic, even marble. The nearly meter-tallSamuraiGuardian (VIII), for instance, is carved from white-veined Paonazzo marble, a challengingmaterial favoured in ancient European architecture and Renaissance sculpture for itsassociations with power, wealth, and devotion.
Lucanus Dartvaderi Torvus,2020, bronze, third fire ceramic, resin and other material, 52 x 29 x 9.5 cm
Created since 2011, the “Beetles” series preserves Pugliese’s gratitude for his memorablechildhood within jewel-toned ceramic shells commemorating life’s fleeting yet preciousmoments of transformation and growth, as well as a reminder of our origins.
Pugliese revisits the summers of his childhood in Sardinia, where he and his cousin paintedvibrant patterns on beetle shells, causing confusion among amateur bug enthusiasts whothought they had found rare specimens. These tender memories now fuel his artistic energy,turning ordinary moments into precious gems.
Sculpted by Pugliese from bronze and ceramic with bright and tactile finishes, each Beetlecontains a whimsical souvenir from his youth, such as thumb-sized figurines of Darth Vader anda Queen Elizabeth II stamp. He playfully names these sculptures by modifying old Latinbinomial naming conventions for species.
In addition to the standard processes of shaping and glazing, an age-old “third firing” methodimparts metallic shades to the shell, producing an eect akin to a celestial tapestry.
In Memento, the latest solo exhibition of Matteo Puglies held by Kwai Fung Hin in Hong Kong, we witness the enlightening discoveries from Matteo Pugliese’s soul voyage, exploring themes of vulnerability and resilience, individuality and ancestry, faith and rebirth. Perhaps the tension in the “Extra Moenia” series may find purification through the steadfastdetermination of the “Guardians” and the powerful remembrance invoked by the “Beetles,” ultimately achieving a sense of self-reconciliation. Pugliese’s sculptures manifest as intimatevisual mementos - at once universal and personal, ancient and renewed.
