Vincenzo Raimondo - Mano_With Love #2

This painting, 60x90 cm, acrylic, uses one of the most abused symbols of contemporary communication: the middle finger. The one that usually screams “get out of here” without even bothering to argue. Here, though, something else happens. And you can see it, even if someone pretends not to.

The gesture is clear, frontal, impossible to ignore. Yet the bright, almost playful colors transform it. There isn’t dark anger, there isn’t chromatic violence. There’s a palette that speaks of vitality, irony, lightness with awareness. And then the inscription arrives: “With love.” Two words that sabotage everything.

The message isn’t “I hate you,” it isn’t “get lost,” it isn’t even a hysterical rebellion. It’s rather a discomforting assertion: even noes can be spoken with love. Boundaries can be set without destroying. Even a refusal can be an act of honesty, not aggression.

This finger
Does not reject: it warns.
Does not insult: it defends.
Does not break: it clarifies.

It’s a gesture that says: “I am here, just as I am. If this disturbs you, that’s fine. With love.” And it is precisely this controlled ambiguity that makes the work interesting: it forces you to pause half a second longer than expected. That half second in which you realize you’re not looking at an easy provocation, but at an emotional stance.

A painting that works because it is direct without being stupid, ironic without being light, provocative without being empty. In other words: it doesn’t tell you to go to hell. It gently accompanies you to the edge… and then points it out with a smile.

******
Autodidact artist, my work does not follow a fixed style, but evolves with time and experience.
My painting arises from observing daily life and listening to emotions.
I address diverse themes and experiment with new languages, letting each work find its own form.
Mine is an instinctive, essential, imperfect art, tied to the complexity of the human being and of nature.
Art, for me, is not decoration but authentic, lived presence.

In 2015 and 2016 I was a finalist in the Sunday Painters competition promoted by La Stampa, among over 3,000 works selected.
The selections were curated by a qualified jury, with the presence of critic Francesco Bonami.
The finalists were presented in a review linked to Artissima – International Contemporary Art Fair of Turin. In 2016 I received the Critics’ Prize.