Michela Fabeni Art Gallery | The Birth of Bas-reliefs, Smussato, Living Matter and Metaphor of Creation — Art as Rebirth
- michelafabeni
- Feb 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 20
My art was born as a rebirth.
It emerged during a time when I was rediscovering myself, moving through uncertainty about both present and future. In that passage I began exploring matter on canvas. Everything started from a spontaneous gesture: I needed to touch, carve, and connect with matter using my bare hands, with the palette knife becoming an extension of them.
At first I did not feel comfortable with canvas. My expression lived on walls, without boundaries. When walls were no longer available, the canvas became necessity and territory to cross. From that moment anthropomorphic figures appeared, with almost winged or webbed hands reaching beyond edges, as if limits did not exist.
Through reflection I recognized and defined this creative gesture as Smussato.
To smooth is to connect, shape, soften roughness, and establish dialogue between fullness and emptiness. Fullness holds thickness and presence; emptiness reveals depth through flat surfaces. The blade cuts and reveals, the hand listens and guides.
Natural elements take part in the process — air, sunlight, drying time. They actively contribute to the final expression. I follow the flow without forcing it. I nourish the material, strengthen it, bathe it, and brush it gently like a sprouting living form, before letting it go free.
This cycle mirrors life itself: birth, care, growth, release.
Within matter I perceive energy in motion — a deep connection with nature and the universe. Nothing is created or destroyed; everything transforms. Working with organic materials allows me to engage with this constant transformation, contemplating existence and appreciating the beauty of simplicity.
Enter my creative universe www.michelafabeniart.com
Write to me and begin a dialogue with matter michelafabeni@libero.it
Follow the living breath of my creations. @michelafabeniart
Michela Fabeni
Artist of the Third Millennium
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