Nicola Samorì

Many artistic movements have come to fashion via the fetishization of entropy, the emulation of images re-rendered and manipulated by the hands of time—consider how Théodore Géricault developed his clusters of bodies with dramatic chiaroscuro, admiring a Sistine Chapel blackened by three hundred years of candle smoke. Now, thanks to the use of sophisticated new technologies, it is possible to influence the cultural canon of images that have reached us through museums, private collections, and photographic documentation. While the past remains a malleable substance, it can now be deformed and reformed immeasurably with great speed. In an instant, Artificial Intelligence can create a collection of credible 'old masters' that, as soon as they appear on the small screens of our mobile devices, become indistinguishable at a glance from so-called 'original' works. The expedited mass consumption of these images does not allow time for thorough examination; our collective visual archive will soon be clouded.

As in previous exhibitions, the paintings in Blend the Blind, Nicola Samorì’s first solo with Nicodim, evoke the allure of the ancient. Whereas earlier works were based on the direct citation of works by old masters, however, they are now mediated by the application of AI. A function called ‘Blend,’ allows the instantaneous combination of icons from art history with any other type of visual information. By gradually nourishing the generated images with new heterogeneous elements, increasingly complex blends are obtained. These new compositions distance themselves from the plundered works and generate a flow that only stops when a form appears potentially suitable for translation into painting. The seductive patina of digital images is continually challenged by the discontinuity of the painterly gesture.

Despite the source-compositions being the result of AI-driven operations, the wide range of techniques employed in the exhibition stem from Samorì’s familiarity with the materials employed. The application of oils on stone, copper plates, and canvas is made possible by his own human practice, experience, and experimentation with the personalities, nuance, and chemistry of the materials. His materials dictate the rules and call images to themselves. The material exuberance of these works is the greatest challenge that can be posed to the literal absence of materiality in digital creations. He sees it as a way to slow down the frenzied pace with which digital images proliferate on the screen. One of the inexhaustible forces of painting is to bind the hand, mind, and eye to a manifestation that, even if fast, follows a biological rhythm of breath and heartbeat.

Nicola Samorì (b. 1977, Forlì, Italy) lives and works in Bagnacavallo, Italy. His work was included as a part of the Italian Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Recent exhibitions include Blend the Blind, Nicodim, New York (2024, solo, forthcoming); Disembodied, Nicodim, Los Angeles (2024); Joshua Hagler, Devin B. Johnson, Nicola Samorì, Hugo Wilson, Nicodim, Los Angeles (2023); Disembodied, Nicodim, New York (2023); Le Ossa della Madre, Villa d’Este, Tivoli (2022, solo); On the Wall, Building Gallery, Milan (2022); MONO, Galerie Eigen+Art, Lipsia (2022, solo); Sfregi, Palazzo Fava, Bologna (2021, solo); Roma (Manuale della mollezza e la tecnica dell’eclisse), Monitor Gallery, Rome (2021, solo); Danae Revisited, Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, Pieve di Soligo (2021); 141 – Un secolo di disegno in Italia, Fondazione del Monte, Bologna (2021); Black Square, Fondazione Made in Cloister e Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples (2020, solo); In abisso, Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin (2020, solo); Lucìe, MART- Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto (2020, solo); Stand 1D08, Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin (2020); Collective Care: A House with Many Guests, M Woods, Chaoyang, Beijing (2020); Cannibal Trail, Yu-Hsiu Museum of Art, Caotun (2019, solo); Solstizio d’Inferno, Biblioteca Classense, Ravenna (2019, solo); Metafysica, Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum, Tønsberg (2019); Preparing for Darkness – Vol. 3: I’m Not There, Kühlhaus, Berlin (2019); Iscariotes: Matteo Fato/Nicola Samorì, Casa Testori, Milan (2018, solo); Malafonte, Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin (2018, solo); Bild Macht Religion: Kunst zwischen Verehrung, Verbot und Vernichtung, Kunstmuseum, Bochum (2018); Begotten, Not Made, Ana Cristea Gallery, New York (2014, solo); The Venerable Abject, Ana Cristea Gallery, New York (2012, solo).