/ Tazio Kastelic

Tazio Kastelic (1997) is an emerging American-Italian artist and designer living and working in Torino. He is completing his MA thesis as part of his MA degree in Artistic Design for Industry at the Albertina Academy of Fine Art in Turin (2022). His life as an art student has been rich and varied as his studies have taken him to two different EU countries as a recipient of Erasmus scholarship: the University of Fine Arts in Budapest (2018–19) and the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (FBAUL) (2019–20). Tazio is the recipient of 2nd place at the “Solart” International Exhibition (Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, Saint Petersburg, Russia • 2021). Tazio had a solo show Dispositivo #01 Manica Lunga (Albertina Academy of Fine Arts, Turin • 2018). Tazio has strong links with his father's studio, American-Italian artist Victor Kastelic (1964), in whose gallery Kspaces his work was included in many collective shows: Libri d'artista (2017), Black and White Nights (2018), Voce! (2018), The Store (2018), The Greatest Things/Le cose migliori (2018), Small History (2018) and Foreshadows/Prefigurazioni (2019).

His artistic curiosity is symbiotic to his other interests in archaeology, anthropology, biology, psychology, folklore and comparative religion. His artwork navigates the complexities between ancient and modern humans and their spiritual search for balance. Often his work requires active participation on behalf of the viewer involving all six senses. His work is never conclusive but must be considered part of an ever-changing sensorial process.

The four lizard-like figures from the "Kanaga" series (2018), expressed here in two forms of fine art (drawing and sculpture), are variations of the same basic motif. The word Kanaga originates from the Dogon Tribe in Mali in West Africa. It is related to a ritual Kanaga mask – with a double cross shape – that evokes the creator of the world, the God Amma. The Awa (Mask) Society traditionally wears the mask, particularly during the funeral ceremonies of mourning the dead (Dance of the Dama). The Dogon believe that the dance forms a bridge between the supernatural world and that the dead cannot enter the world of peace without the dance. The Dogon also believes that through such rituals, the benevolent force of their ancestors is transmitted to them. The general viewer of the dance tends to see various animal subjects: a bird, the lizard, the iguana, a water insect, the hand of the God or the female spirit of the tree. In such ritual dances, the body of performers is transfixed in a repetitive movement to the sound of music, the aspect of which is evident in Tazio's four drawings. The Kanaga symbol is a recurring symbol found in many indigenous societies worldwide. The image is an archetype from ancient times and was carved in rocks or painted in caves. It is known as the Squatting Man (Stick Man).

The figures are characterized by an ambiguous combination of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic traits. Lizard forms have been depicted upon every continent on earth since Neolithic times. We note their symbolic necessity without quite understanding the meaning. This symbol has emerged in the artist’s life as a series of synchronicities over the past four years in seemingly unrelated occasions, crossing into various mediums such as ceramics, graphics, textiles and video. Without ever revealing its explicit meaning. Through an exercise of poetic transfiguration, Tazio Kastelic gives life to a complex body of work which explores the nature of duality: the balanced interaction between completion and forces of regeneration.
– Tazio Kastelic/Kspaces Archive, Turin (2022)

The fascination with archetypal motifs has motivated me throughout all my artistic efforts, for these ideas carry great amounts of poetic potential and always seem to resonate deeply with most people regardless of personal beliefs or cultural barriers.
– Tazio Kastelic (2022)