“Nulla due volte, Nothing twice, Never twice,” this phrase echoes the words of Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. Just like in her poem, where each moment, each emotion is unique and cannot be repeated, Federico Pietrella’s work materializes this idea through his meticulous and singular technique. Time, both linear and subjective, is frozen in his works while remaining in motion, constantly renewed. Each stamp applied to the canvas is a trace of that unique moment, an irreversible imprint of a time that will never return.
It is in this quest to capture the ephemeral that Federico Pietrella’s second solo exhibition at the Sobering Gallery is rooted. Entitled “Nulla due volte, Nothing twice, Never twice,” it continues to explore his central theme: time. Still using the date stamp as his only tool, Pietrella transcends the simple measurement of time to make it a true artistic material.
Federico Pietrella makes time the core of his artistic approach, using an unusual tool: the date stamp. Each day of work is marked by the imprint of a date on the canvas, and it is through this meticulous repetition that he builds his works. This technique not only captures the visual passage of time but also transforms this abstract concept into something perceptible.
His compositions often depict everyday scenes—tranquil landscapes or familiar interiors—rendered by a multitude of superimposed dates. From afar, his works may evoke photographs or paintings, but upon closer inspection, one discovers that each detail is formed by stamps applied with meticulous precision. This accumulation creates works where texture and temporality blend, offering a level of detail that is both mechanical and organic.
Pietrella explores classical subjects, but his innovative approach grounds them in a contemporary dimension. His aesthetic choices are part of a broader reflection on time and its representation, evoking echoes of artists like Georges Seurat for his pointillist approach, or Roman Opalka, known for his work focused on temporal progression. However, where Opalka sought to capture time as an end, Pietrella uses it as a framework, a material to sculpt.
Pietrella’s technique illustrates another way of understanding time: not merely as a succession of measurable moments, but as a subjective, fluid experience, manifested through repetitive yet meaningful gestures. By accumulating stamps day after day, he materializes this idea of “duration” as defined by philosopher Henri Bergson, where time is lived rather than quantified.
Through this unique method, Pietrella revisits classical themes in art history while inscribing them into a modern reflection on time and memory. His works invite the viewer to meditate on how time shapes not only the artwork itself but also the experience of the one who contemplates it.