Massimo Sirelli, Behind the cover ItaliaImballaggio 01-02/2023
Born in Catanzaro in 1981, Massimo Sirelli is an Italian artist of national and international fame. His first steps in the visual arts as a teenager were influenced by the world of graffiti.
His creative approach leads him to mix tools and supports: tools become supports and supports become tools.
His works have been published in some of the most important graphic and design books in the world, edited by Taschen Gestalten PepinPress and by other renowned publishers.
He has been a teacher of Presentation and Portfolio Techniques at the IED in Turin since 2008. He works as a freelance and advertising communication consultant. Thanks to his personal and varied language, he is today considered one of the most interesting Italian artists in the pop and urban art fields. He lives and works between Turin and Catanzaro.
In the author's own words
One of my Robots has an air of happiness in the work created for ItaliaImballaggio: in the background there are cosmetic icons and instruments for personal care, vehicles of wellbeing. On its chest, however the Robot has the reuse symbol, a theme closely linked to my work (it’s no coincidence that my famous robot sculptures are made with recovered materials) and to the theme of the sustainability of consumer goods packaging.
Editors’ note. In 2013 Sirelli launched the project AdottaunRobot.com, the first Adopt a Robot pet scheme in the world: robots orphaned by industrial progress and rampant consumerism find a home through the work and research of the artist, who assembles them and tries to find them a new “Family”.
They were defined as Robots with a soul by Maurizio Di Fazio in the L’Espresso magazine dated 30 May 2022, creatures with rigid features but with soft feelings and “tender bolts”. They look like robots, but are not dominated by artificial intelligence.
