"Saint Rose of Lima"

The Divisionist

Putting A Finer Point on It: Maurizio Battifora and a Love Affair with Pointillism

By Angie Hargot

It was a term coined in 1880s Paris in respect to the work of Georges Seurat — at the time intended for ridicule.

The technique of Pointillism utilizes small dots of primary colors to produce secondary colors, via a form of impressionism. Their vicinity forces the eye to collide colors; the resulting vibration between interacting points mashes light and hues, representing whole unique systems of color theory and 'divisionism.'

Seurat and other Pointillists eventually gained a following, of course, but then, and to this day, relatively few artists have been prolific in the genre. The art form, however, has hardly been abandoned. Exhibit A: Miami Beach artist Maurizo Battifora’s new take on the method. Juxtaposing the painstakingly intricate technique with simplistic, even cartoonish, figures, and further complicating them with divisive cultural themes and empiricism imported from his native Peru, Battifora crafts irrefutably eye-catching acrylic works; mesmerizing in their simplicity, and their complexity.

How did it start?
I’ve always painted and drawn...since I was a little kid. Every birthday and Christmas I got dozens of sketch books, crayons, oils and brushes from uncles, aunts and my parents. I remember painting and drawing all the time; my family named me “El Artista.” Eventually I went to a graphic arts school in Peru named Toulouse Lautrec, and Veritas, an art school in Costa Rica. I was a freelance illustrator in Costa Rica and Peru. My illustrations were published in the La Nacion newspaper in Costa Rica; and The Salesian Catholic Publishings and El Comercio newspaper in Peru. When I came to the U.S. in 1998 I worked as a muralist in Virginia Beach. Then, in 2002, I took an art class at Miami Dade College with Edwin Montalvo, an artist and teacher who helped me discover my true passion and talent for painting. I began by drawing and painting realistic scenes inspired by Rembrandt, but he taught me to find my own inner style instead of copying reality. I was so inspired by his class and his energy that I began exploring my own style and possibilities, and I haven’t stopped since then.

Do you have a studio?
I paint in my apartment in South Beach. I believe in “sleeping” with my paintings — I have my paintings near my bedroom. I think that an artist must have his or her canvas and brushes near them at all times. You never know when you will get up in the middle of the night with an idea or a new thought.

"The Shower"

Tell us about your style. What is the reception your work receives in the art world today?
My Pointillist style uses an array of secondary colors to express mood and a sense of space and form. The Seurat Pointillist uses primary colors that mix visually to generate a secondary color. There are relatively few artists who work in this style, and that’s why I think my style is attractive to the public and art buyers who have seen it.

What draws you to the technique?
I was drawn to pointillism because not many artists use the technique these days, probably because it’s a time consuming form of art. I like Pointillism because it’s visually vibrant. The large and small dots of color create shades, light and movement. When you look at the painting closely, you can see the individual dots of color, but when you step back, the dots blend together to create the finished picture and that’s what fascinates me. Amazingly enough, I never thought of Seurat when I began using Pointillism; I was actually more influenced by a friend and artist, Paul Sierra, and by another artist, [Roberto] Bonfiglio.

You’ve called your work “Naïve Pointillism.” Elaborate?
Naïve Pointillism is a self-taught style: it’s primitive and simplistic, and has subtle patterns. It is neither an academic art style that someone taught me, nor a technique that I learned in school. It is something more innate.

You’ve also described your work as being inspired by memories from your childhood. Some of your pieces depict nudity, or clearly portray sexual themes. Are the two elements related?
One of the most obvious characteristics in my paintings is the shape of eyes and mouths. At my mother’s house in Lima, there was a silver platter portrait of my grandmother, Dina (a woman I had heard of, but have never met). She had these beautiful, deep big eyes and small angular lips. Since I was a kid, all of my paintings and drawings have depicted these features. In my search for originality, I realized that nothing could be closer to being original than a child’s drawing, and so the essence and basics of my drawings are very much the same now as when I was a little boy. The nudity is the adult part of me within the little kid’s painting. When we are children we see nakedness as normal and not a taboo, but as we grow, nudity becomes shameful, and we are taught to hide ourselves in clothes. I think that is what makes my paintings interesting: the innocent beauty of Pointillism makes the nudity permissible because what we see is a beautiful naked image in its most primitive form, as if drawn through the eyes of a child. 

What inspires you?
I began painting animals, because animals show emotions in an unprejudiced way. Later I turned to humans - women more than men. I think that women are amazingly complex creatures, capable of demonstrating or concealing an infinite amount of emotion and strength. [In my work] body shapes are inspired by the women of my family (my mother, my aunts, and my cousins) and me, and they have curves, and big hips. These women have very particular life stories, each of them are very dear to me. But the inspiration to start a painting may come from different places, I like to get out and walk, and something or somebody I see on the street may inspire a new painting. My dreams and feelings are represented too. I usually create an image in my head, and later I grab a small piece of paper and draw a sketch. Later, I translate the sketch onto the canvas. I cover the canvas with dots until the image I form in my head starts to show.

"Red"

What inspires you in South Florida?
The personality of the people of Miami Beach — the attitude.

What was the inspiration for your favorite piece?
“Yearning.” This painting is dear to me because I didn’t like it when I started to paint it, and I actually put it aside for a long time, hidden from everyone’s view — even mine. Later, at one point in my life when I went through a deeply emotional event and I found myself very depressed and sad, I found this unfinished work in my closet, and I pulled it out and began working on it again, and I finished it. The painting and the process of painting it helped me heal because I translated all the emotions I was feeling into it.

How has the art market been for you?
For some, art is a luxury, not a necessity. In this economy, selling any kind of art is difficult. Nevertheless, I have been lucky enough to find clients intrigued by my style and I always sell something, mostly via my Web site and [at] fairs. I have a friend who helps me promote [my work] with brochures and bi-folds that direct you to my site. I also do small gatherings at my art studio where I show my work to interested buyers.

You’ve published a book of your work: “The Pointillist Art of Maurizio Battifora.” What was that experience like for you?
Not all of my paintings are in the book. Only selected pieces appear in it, which frustrates me because I love all of my paintings and I wish I could have had them all in there. The idea started when I celebrated four years of painting commercially and professionally. I guess that, to me, the book is like an album of memories. Each painting has a tale charged with emotions behind it, and I am glad to have them in one place.

See more of Battifora’s work at mauriziobattifora.com

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