Giovanni Leonardo Bassan
Between Velvet Flesh & Painted Shadow
ARTWORK detail,「MATHEUS」, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan, 90x130cm,
oil and acrylics and pastel on linen canvas, 2025, Image courtesy of the artist
Interview by Elina Poliakova //
Giovanni Leonardo Bassan’s practice explores how figuration can hold both presence and withdrawal.
With a background that bridges classical training and the nocturnal pulse of Paris and Milan, Bassan has steadily crafted a body of work where softness is never weakness, and where figuration becomes a slow seduction.
His latest exhibition, Non c’è Rosa Senza Spine, marks a turning point: a distilled, pared-back, yet emotionally precise moment in a practice that has long flirted with the sacred and the broken, the sensual and the wounded.
For FVTVRIST, we aim to open a deeper dialogue — one that touches on his evolving relationship with painting, the iconography of touch and shadow, and the philosophical undercurrents that run beneath the surface.
Giovanni Leonardo Bassan, IMG credit: Antoine Bedos
Your exhibition Non c’è Rosa Senza Spine explores themes of duality and perception, bridging classical European painting with contemporary figurative art. How do you navigate the interplay between beauty and pain, visibility and obscurity in your work?
This has been a central conversation with the curator (Lexing Zhang) in the lead-up to the show. The title was actually her idea — she recognized this tension in my life and in my way of seeing the world. I’ve always been drawn to darkness and obscurity, whether in people or situations, yet I carry and transmit a very bright energy. That same duality is present in my paintings: my subjects might emerge from darker narratives, but they’re rendered in vibrant colors, gentle light, and layered transparencies.
Carl Jung’s notion that awareness comes from integrating both light and shadow resonates deeply with me. My work doesn't attempt to hide pain — it transforms it. There’s always this dance between concealment and revelation, where beauty is not separate from fragility but intimately tied to it.
Your works often feature fragmented images, veiled figures, and expressive hands. What significance do these motifs hold for you, and how do they contribute to the overarching themes in your art?
Veiled figures and blurred gestures are part of my personal search for abstraction. Coming from a figurative background, reaching abstraction is quite complex for me — I naturally return to faces, body parts, fragments of identity. By layering scenes and applying paint in translucent washes, I allow distortion to enter the work. The final image is not a statement, but a residue.
As for hands, they’ve become an essential part of my visual language. Being Italian, communication through gesture is second nature. I observe hands constantly — how people move and speak with them. There’s an unspoken intimacy in that language. In almost every piece, a hand appears not just as a symbol, but as a silent communicator, a carrier of memory and emotion.
In pieces like TOMAS and GIADA, you utilize bold brushstrokes and layered colors that evoke a sense of transition and fragility of perception. Can you discuss your material choices and how they serve to underscore the themes of your work?
I’m very drawn to working with unusual materials. In this exhibition, for example, I painted on vintage French military blankets made of thick wool, which are incredibly textured and tactile — raw. It forced me to adapt my technique and relate to the surface in a more sculptural way.
With TOMAS, I began on traditional linen canvas, but ended up cutting out the painting and hand-stitching it onto the blanket. GIADA was painted entirely on wool. The way oil paint moves on that texture allowed me to apply it more heavily, to let the brushstrokes carry weight — almost like carving. These choices help reinforce the physicality and vulnerability of the figures. They’re not floating in sterile space, but anchored in rough, lived materials.
My work doesn't attempt to hide pain —
it transforms it.
ARTWORK 「THOMAS 」, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan,
90x130cm, oil and acrylics and pastel on army blanket (french vintage army blanket 100% wool) and linen canvas, 2025, Image courtesy of the artist
ARTWORK 「GIADA 」, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan,
100x145cm, oil and acrylics on army blanket (french vintage army blanket 100% wool), 2025, Image courtesy of the artist
Presenting your first solo exhibition in Singapore, a city known for its blend of tradition and modernity, how does the cultural context influence the reception of your work, and does it affect your creative process?
For me, exhibiting is the final chapter of creation. The dialogue with the public, the energy of the space, the way people interact with the work — that completes the circle that starts alone in my studio. I often avoid commissions or projects destined for private spaces or archives because I need that moment of exposure and confrontation with the audience.
Singapore’s cultural context — and the broader Southeast Asian community — is both close and distant from my typically Parisian subjects. I was genuinely curious to see what kind of conversations would emerge. And I was pleasantly surprised. The work was well received and thoughtfully interpreted, which reminded me that emotional language can cross cultural boundaries.
Reflecting on your recent exhibitions, how has your artistic practice evolved over the past two years, and what new directions are you exploring in your current work?
Over the past two years, I’ve become more confident in my research and direction. I don’t think I’ve reached the place I want to be, but I’m getting closer. I’m pushing toward a more layered, abstract vision — one that still holds figuration, but lets it dissolve at the edges.
Looking back at my earlier work, I’m full of critique, but also full of excitement for what’s to come. The path feels more defined, more personal, and yet I’m still open to surprise and risk.
ARTWORK detail,「MATHEUS」, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan, 90x130cm,
oil and acrylics and pastel on linen canvas, 2025, Image courtesy of the artist
Having collaborated with figures like Michele Lamy and Rick Owens, how have these interdisciplinary experiences influenced your painting practice and conceptual frameworks?
On a material level, absolutely! Some of the textiles I use are directly inspired by the Owens Furniture world. The military blankets, for instance, are often used in his furniture for flooring or upholstery. I repurpose them in a fine art context, which brings a new layer of meaning.
Conceptually, though, I try to protect my research from too much external influence. Being exposed to international art fairs and constantly surrounded by visual input can feel overwhelming — like an “art overdose.” But I’ve learned how to navigate this saturation: observe everything, absorb very little, and only let in what truly resonates. I admire many things, but I try to keep my inner compass intact.
Photo Credit: STEFFFF
Your paintings invite viewers into intimate and sometimes vulnerable spaces. How do you approach viewer engagement, and what emotional responses do you aim to evoke through your art?
My hope is that viewers will slow down. In a world moving so fast, with attention spans shrinking, I want to offer a pause — a space where people might linger, wonder, and connect with their own feelings.
The layered nature of my paintings means some subjects become unclear or abstracted. I love that moment when the viewer fills in the blanks, sees things their own mind projects. It becomes a dialogue between my gesture and their imagination. Vulnerability invites vulnerability.
Looking ahead, are there specific themes or mediums you are eager to explore, and how do you envision your practice evolving in response to the changing landscapes of art and society?
I don’t think my work changes in reaction to external trends. Rather, I try to mirror the deeper shifts I sense within people and within myself.
As for new mediums, I’m really excited to begin working with bronze. I’ve started developing a hand sculpture for an upcoming show in Paris this July. It’s a new challenge and a natural extension of the themes I’ve always explored — touch, gesture, memory — previously with ceramics, but now in a material that carries permanence and weight. I’m curious to see where it leads.
ARTWORKS 「LIMB I」
ceramic and metal structure, 20x20x102cm, 2024
「LIMB III」15x15x84cm, ceramic and metal structure, 2024
Image courtesy of the artist
Exhibition View, 「Non c’è Rosa Senza Spine」, Loy Gallery, SIngapore, 2025, Image courtesy of the artist
ARTWORKS 「LIMB I」
ceramic and metal structure, 20x20x102cm, 2024
「LIMB III」15x15x84cm, ceramic and metal structure, 2024, Image courtesy of the artist
ARTWORKS 「SELF PORTRAIT」
73x90cm oil and acrylics and pastel on canvas, 2024
「STUDY OF A SELF PORTRAIT」52x62cm
oil and acrylics on transparent gel, 2023
Image courtesy of the artist
ARTWORKS 「SELF PORTRAIT」
oil and spray paint on hand embroidered army blanket,
foam, 150x120x45cm, 2024
Image courtesy of the artist
FIN