Artist of the Week – DiegoKoi • Public Republic

Artist of the Week – DiegoKoi

June 2, 2014 by Editorial Team · No comments

Tsvetelina Mareva`s interview with the painter Diego Fazio – DiegoKoi

Diego Fazio – DiegoKoi, was born in 1989 in the Italian town of Lamezia Terme, Calabria. He started painting as a self-taught artist and in a very short time developed an accurate and precise technique. Initially he created designs for tattoos in Asian style “carp koi”, from where he took the idea for his artist nickname.

In Japanese culture, “carp koi” is a symbol of love and friendship. Over time, Diego developed his technique of painting by reinventing the delicacy and beauty that every nuance can re-create. After tattoos Diego was drawn to hyperrealism – a concept in philosophy and art that describes hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Diego is dedicated entirely to human body drawing. In his paintings real and unreal are merged through combination of shadows and imagination. Diego`s ability to re-create hundreds of shades of light helps him make contrasts that touch the soul of his audence. In his paintings of female models the delicate psyche and quiet emotions are revealed through eyes and facial expression.

Later, Diego continued painting persons who scream in despair and anger of “the whole society”. The typical technique of the young artist to create photorealistic images made him quickly famous in his homeland, where he won the Audience Award “Best Artist NonfermArti 2011” and the Award in the painting section NonfermArti Award 2011 at the Festival Nonfermarti in the province of Cosenza.

In March 2012 DiegoKoi won the International Art Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, selected from about 7,000 participants from all over the world. In early 2013 he won the first prize at the International Lìmen Arte Festival, and on January 25, 2013 the young artist opened his first international exhibition “Sensazioni” in the prestigious gallery Raffian ART in Singapore.

Through the organization ” Sanando Heridas” AC some works of DiegoKoi were donated to a charity auction to help disadvantaged children in Mexico. Meanwhile DiegoKoi was personally involved in another charity auction at the court of Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Charlene in order to help children affected by autism. In November 2013 Diego`s works were exhibited in the Italian gallery”Because Art Space”, and in early 2014 – in the famous gallery “Jonathan Levin ” in New York.

Diego, would you please introduce yourself for the readers of Public Republic? How did you start drawing?

My name is Diego Fazio, DiegoKoi. I am 24 years old and I am a self-taught artist, hyper-realistic. I started drawing a few years ago, making а portrait of my sister, since that day I have dedicated myself to drawing every day working on my technique.

Would you tell us more about your technique of photorealistic pencil drawings?

The technique I use is just pencil on paper. I feel this technique close to me.

How long does it take to finish one of your drawings?

It depends on the difficulty of the design. Could be two weeks or two months.

Do you draw only portraits?

Yes, just drawing portraits, because the human being is the subject that I prefer. And “what I’m most passionate about”. I love to draw especially the look of a person, because the eyes are the soul. In the eyes, I can draw my emotions making them perfectly match those of the subject.

Do you have models posing for your drawing or you use photos?

It takes a lot of time to create a drawing, so that I can`t use posing models. I use the photos I shoot personally and apply the ideas that gave birth to my head.

How do you choose your models? Are you searching for some special facial expressions?

I choose my models among the people I know, who are close to me, in order to be able to capture their emotions. Yes, I look for special facial expressions to make them coincide with my feelings and to be able to make the viewer understand my work.