Pablo Contrisciani
Pablo Contrisciani is an Argentinean artist who has resided in Miami since 1998.
He earned his Masters in Painting at the National University of Fine Arts of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has recently participated in exhibitions at Wynwood 28 Gallery, Arch Gallery & Karpio-Facchini Gallery, Miami; Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York; Light Contemporary, London; Mackey Gallery, Houston; Solar Art Gallery, East Hampton and Art Center South Florida, Miami.
He exhibited internationally at Museo Sivori, Buenos Aires. Museo Provicial de Bellas Artes de La Plata, Museo Municipal de La Plata, Centro Cultuaral Recoleta, Buenos Aires Argentima and Casa Argentina at Rome, Italy.
He has exhibited at the Art Fairs: Scope London, Scope New York, and Scope Miami; Art Toronto; Fiac Paris; Art Miami; and Arte Americas. His work has been reviewed in publications such as Art in America, Art Nexus, Arte al Dia, New Times, the Miami Herald, and El Nuevo Herald.
Public and corporate collectors hold Pablo Contrisciani’s works from the USA, Latin America, and Europe.
Collect Bean: How does your painting process look like from start to finish?
Pablo Contrisciani: Abstract painting allows me to explore, take risks, and experience the freedom of the process—the surprise of the unplanned. More than developing an idea, my work is about emotions. It’s about not having a concrete plan but having faith that every stroke and every color will lead somewhere. It’s the only time my brain truly lets go! Art is a metaphor for life. As the saying goes, “Life imitates art.”
Sometimes, the biggest flops turn into beauty as we reimagine what can be. We can’t be afraid to make mistakes. When paintings don’t turn out well, I just start over and add another layer of paint. Layers upon layers create something complex and beautiful that couldn’t have been foreseen or replicated. Sometimes, the end product is better than the initial vision because there’s more depth to the story—the added layers create a richer, more interesting flavor.
I start by imagining the colors. If I imagine the final product, it never turns out that way—ever. But that’s a good thing. I don’t want to paint reality. Reality is about landscapes and still-life portraits, and I have too much reality in my reality. Why would I need more? I like abstract art because it’s about not having control, not having rules, and working with a blank canvas. It’s about creating something from nothing—or maybe it’s creating something from something: a canvas and paint.
Collect Bean: What role does color play in your practice?
Pablo Contrisciani: Color is the main element in my work. It relates to the wish to express emotional states and reflects the concept of simultaneity, with the contrast of light representing those states of emotion. Color is deeply personal—every painter has their own palette. There are many ways to use color, and all are valid because color reflects your personality.
For me, color is energy. It’s an energetic release with great personal power. Adding colors changes that vibration, making it more complex. I want this energy to explode on the canvas and communicate its intensity. While my work has an affinity with Abstract Expressionism, it also has a chromatic passion and voluptuousness that bring me closer to Fauvism.
A painting is about materializing the immaterial. It has its own entity and creates its path beyond the creator. For viewers, abstract paintings can be difficult to connect with, but I want my artwork to speak directly to them without obstacles. My titles are just suggestions. For me, painting is a mirror—it’s about self-awareness and revelation.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art? What do they represent?
Pablo Contrisciani: My work explores the Universe and its unity within infinite diversity. I depict the juxtapositions between chaos and harmony, the constant change and movement, and the idea that each part contains the whole. This creates what I call "Energies"—the visual multiplicity that makes up the Universe.
The variety in my paintings represents multiple energies vibrating simultaneously. I express these energies through highly saturated colors to generate optical effects, gestural brushstrokes to evoke rhythmic movement, and layers of shapes to produce the illusion of three-dimensional space.
Collect Bean: How do you approach the balance between experimentation and consistency in your art?
Pablo Contrisciani: Painting, for me, is an act of liberation—a mystical, intuitive connection to the process. I don’t visualize a plan. Instead, I spill my philosophy of life onto the canvas. The multiplicity of colors and movement in my work reflects life’s twists and turns but always aligns with a universal order that’s beyond the ego.
When I paint, I’m in a state of abandonment. I place colors, stains, and textures intuitively—like in a trance. Then, I react and select the accidents that excite me. Through this intuitive process, a certain magic appears, and I try to infuse the rest of the painting with that energy, creating a constant multiplicity in color, movement, texture, and space. My goal is for each painting to contain it all.
Freedom is essential to me, and that’s why I love abstraction. I push boundaries by breaking limits, changing approaches, and incorporating new elements—even painting with my eyes covered to surrender control. Each painting must be an adventure.
I don’t like to repeat paintings. I can’t. Even though I have a routine and visit the studio daily, I don’t always paint. As Picasso said, “The muse arrives while you’re working.” I start with a single color on the canvas—it’s a necessity. Sometimes, I work with large stains or small marks, using them as backgrounds or building blocks. Large formats allow me the freedom and expansiveness I need, though working on a small scale is a challenge I occasionally take on to push myself.
