The illustrated man; a view on Daniele Serra

“Profiles”

I have not opened with words, but with a picture and that as we know, speaks a thousand words. I was fortunate enough to see a reviewer’s copy of Daniele Serra’s book: Veins and Skulls…

Who is Daniele Serra? Well, allow me to give you a brief history. He was born in Italy, he has worked for numerous small press publications and has produced work for such notable writers such as Barbie Wilde (who wrote the beautifully disturbing book ‘The Venus Complex’ and who played the Female Cenobite from the classic series of films of the Hellraiser franchise).

Daniele has also illustrated for DC Comics. As if this was not enough, he has also received the British Fantasy Award and has had exhibits across the world.

Now, I am not one for collecting art, but there are two exceptions in my world and these are Clive Barker and Daniele Serra. Just as I, just as Barbie and just as Daniele and Clive, we all strive for new horizons and metaphors to explain our view of the world. Some of us use words; some of us use paints and pencils, using our hands as extensions of our souls. We bleed words, we bleed paint, and Daniele Serra show us so perfectly the innermost darkness of his soul and it’s beautifully macabre spirit. That’s what attracts me to Daniele’s art; it conveys deep eroticism without being explicit. It has rage and darkness without violence. He is a wonderful paradox.

I am especially fond of his use of sepia’s the warm yellows as they compliment with earthy browns and contrast with blue-grey tones, all making wonderful art as exhibited in the examples in this blog. I am not the only fan of his work. Joe R. Lansdale and Ramsey Campbell also love his work. Jeff Mariotte writes a wonderful introduction to the book.

‘Light’

Daniele’s book, Veins and Skulls, is a testament to what the small presses can produce, it shatters all expectations, and it makes you sit up and say ‘wow.’ His art transcends words, it evokes emotions, and actions, thought provoking art, that makes us wonder. Broken down into several parts, Daniele begins with some powerful themes for his art; sex, nudity, the female form mingled with death. While these evoke different pictures and images in our minds, Daniele melds these subjects without once making them crude or vulgar, he makes them images of beauty despite being so very dark in nature. “Goodbye” is a personal favourite of mine of the first part of this wonderful art book. There are paintings of loss and loneliness, which also run alongside the powerful themes he has chosen.

Part two are simpler, spartan images painted in black upon crisp white paper and still no power is lost, in fact, it draws more attention to the art at hand. More concentrated on that great mystery to men: the female form. Vulnerable and yet so strong. His love of the feminine form echoes throughout the book.

Part three comes to Daniele’s landscapes, images that you wish you could climb into and explore. The paradox that is Daniele’s brush and imagination come into play, more so here than any other part of the book in my opinion. These are bleak images, and yet somehow there is a haunting magnificence to them. There is a story there awaiting to unfold between the brush strokes. Daniele can often tell more of a story in a couple of brush strokes than I could in a thousand words. Throughout these paintings, there is a touch of the artist Goya, The Black Paintings to be more precise, and as with Goya as he painted his dark thoughts, Daniele bellows his down the catacombs of our imagination, bringing forth what he sees when he stares into the abyss. It does not just stare back, but he captures it and shows us that there is beauty in the dark, all we have to do is take his hand and let our eyes hold testament.

Into the darkness, we tread…

For more of Daniele Serra’s work please drop by his site: http://www.multigrade.it/

Or follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multigrade

For more on Barbie Wilde; https://www.facebook.com/BarbieWildeAuthorActress

For more on Clive Barker; https://www.facebook.com/officialclivebarker

And finally, for more on me; https://www.facebook.com/R.D.TEUN

Veins and Skulls will be released later this month.

Artwork © 2013 Daniele Serra