Daniele Palaia

Daniele Palaia | Where I Am Not | 2025

You mentioned that your work explores the tension between reality and imagination. How do you decide which elements of reality to preserve and which to distort?

It’s a theme that creates constant inner struggles for me. It has been a long journey, one that actually began with photography. For several years, it was my preferred medium because it allowed me to include surreal elements within reality. Over time, however, it became limiting, as my need was to explore an increasingly surreal world. To answer your question more directly, I believe that both elements must coexist and find balance. The most important aspect is that the result reflects the thought behind the work, that is always the priority. In my creative process, I always start with an idea, placing it in an everyday context; the surreal element represents the emotional side that transforms the scene. Following this principle, I try to maintain a constant “real anchor” in all my works, whatever it may be, and then build other worlds upon it.

Your background in advertising and art direction must influence your artistic vision. In what ways has this professional experience shaped your current practice?

My background in advertising has strongly influenced, and still influences, my artistic vision. I’ve always considered this experience to be both an advantage and a limitation in my path. On one hand, it gave me tools such as social analysis, self-criticism, and the ability to envision the overall impact of my projects. On the other hand, the constant necessity of communicating horizontally in a way that could be understood by everyone, was a significant obstacle I had to overcome in order to grow artistically and build a solid foundation for my research.

In Where I am not, there is a strong sense of surreal architecture and human presence. What role does space play in your artistic language?

Space is always at the service of the message. In some works, it plays a smaller role; in others, it becomes central. In Where I am not, space is as important as the main character itself. The architecture provides a physical dimension to a mental concept that, over time, grows increasingly overwhelming. In truth, the idea almost entirely resides there: space itself represents the state of being “outside of oneself.”

Daniele Palaia | Locked | 2025

Many of your works feature fragmented or abstracted human forms. What do these figures symbolize for you?

In my artistic language, the human figure is a mutable symbol, capable of embodying a thought, an act, or an emotion. It is not a portrait of someone else, but a mirror, a reflection of the viewer, or of a self they may have once inhabited, just as I have in my own experience.

Your statement reflects on the search for meaning outside of oneself. How does this philosophical idea translate into your visual choices?

This is a very important point in my stylistic research, especially in Where I am not. The choice not to depict human figures characterized by skin color, gender, or any other connotative element is deliberate. The sense is that ideas themselves have no specific features: they simply exist, independently of the form they are given. To remain faithful to that thought, it’s essential for me that the elements appear “impersonal,” so that the message always comes first.

How do you see the relationship between your 3D models, canvas prints, and sculptures? Do they function as independent works or as parts of a continuous dialogue?

It depends. Some works were created to be part of a continuous dialogue, while many others function as independent pieces. As for the medium, it always depends on the specific work. The idea reigns over everything else, and the choice of medium depends on which support best allows the work to express its message.

Surreal environments often provoke both fascination and discomfort. What emotions do you hope viewers experience when encountering your works?

I always hope for a sense of connection. To me, my works are a true emotional diary: some have a lighter, more joyful tone, while others are decidedly more melancholic. What I hope is that, whatever emotion is sparked, it will later lead to a critical reflection. The thought that a viewer might still be carrying the work in their mind on the way home, and that it might provoke further reflection, is perhaps what I desire the most.