Fabio Benetti’s work is unique. No other artist paints with mineral substances, incorporating their sophisticated reactions to the wind, the rain and the sun.

 

For each work, he chooses first the language of mineral chemistry he will employ; his designs grow from his instincts; and he oversees nature as it matures the result.

Benetti was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1970, where he works. With a degree in law, for many years he headed his own prosperous and successful commercial law practice, before deciding to dedicate himself exclusively to art and its related studies and research – acquiring a considerable background of courses in art and philosophy.

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An experience in the laboratory of a building construction project inspired his singular technique, based on the reactions of materials – kaolin, barite, limestone/calcium compounds, and numerous other minerals. Initial discoveries of their reactions as they mix led to a desire to continue experimenting with their combinations, and how the resulting products modify when exposed to the elements.

His process of creation is in two parts.

In the first, the artist is the protagonist, orchestrating materials and initial conditions for each work to have a life of its own; in the second, as he decides the right time for exposure to the sun, wind, temperature and humidity, he is an observer – of the alchemy of the materials’ maturation when exposed to the sun and the elements, creating a work in accordance with the climate conditions of the moment. In this process the material opens lines and fissures, creating new possibilities, forms and colours.