ANCESTRAL VIBRATIONS OF THE LAND: THE PAINTING OF POL PETRINO

There is a sense of fluid movement in the work of Italian multidisciplinary artist Pol Petrino. In a territory where land art installations, painting, and performance art converge, where the discovery of new environments interweaves with sacred rituals, a dialogue takes place between the artist and his canvas, between man and nature. This connection involves the stones and minerals that form the foundation of Petrino's art, the terrains he envisions as potential fields of creativity, and especially his profound communion with water. His works incorporate the colours, feelings, and spirit of the places he visits across Aboriginal traditional lands in Australia and wild areas in Asia and Europe. 

By often placing raw fabric directly on the sand and rocks, the artist engages his full body to trace the earth’s textures using the lithic materials he gathers locally. Spirals and circles, transparencies, dense and ethereal surfaces animate the paintings, appearing like sedimentary traces carved by water moving across a shoreline. In this sense, each piece becomes an eternal physical memory of Petrino's performative act, mirroring both his intent and the raw resonance of the land. 

“In this ritual of energy exchange between man and nature, where the mind fades, and the body is guided by natural force, the fruit of the union manifests in an ephemeral sign, a testament to what has just occurred.”

Petrino regards his art as a bridge between modernity and ancestral wisdom, conveying messages of contemplation on our role within our environment and as part of a living whole. Found in all his series are references to archetypes and universal symbols common to humanity’s earliest engravings and ancient religions.

A selection of works from the series Hiera, Walidwipa, Inner, and Songlines is on view in the heart of Milan's Brera Design district at Palazzo Molteni, recently reimagined by Vincent Van Duysen as an urban ecosystem of mutual enhancement between art and design. Creating a subtle counterpoint with the timeless elegance of Molteni's lifestyle, Petrino’s textural paintings transport the viewer into uncharted natural topographies that bear witness to the earth’s primal energy. These works act as tactile anchors, embodying a return to the elemental and grounding the sophisticated interiors of the Palazzo to the solidity of stone and the fluidness of water.

Born from a journey to the island of Vulcano, the forms traced in the Hiera series resonate with concepts of infinity, rebirth, and the cyclical nature of the seasons. Similarly, the paintings of the Walidwipa series, created during a trip to Bali in 2023, are inspired by the island’s tripartite division of mountains, ocean, and in-between, exploring the coexistence of good and evil, holiness and profanity.

“In Bali, the landscape itself seemed sculpted by a primordial order: the plains, cradle of man; the mountains, inaccessible dwelling of the gods; the ocean, a dark boundary where the restless spirits dwell.”

Reflecting the rich ochre browns and sylvan greens of the landscape of north-west Italy, the Inner series is created using a blend of finely-ground soil and crushed stone from the Piedmont region, applied to cotton canvas. In the first painting of this series, a single, luminous spot emerges from the composition's centre, acting as a focal point that draws the eye inward and radiates a sense of inner energy. 

The profoundly spiritual and recent Songlines series embraces a minimalist aesthetic. Its palette revolves around a spectrum of whites, greys, and blacks, reflecting a subtle chiaroscuro to create a sense of depth and light. The series is a homage to the fundamental aspect of Aboriginal songlines, which include songs, stories, and dances serving as maps that guide indigenous peoples through their ancestral territories.

Influenced by his main professor at the University of Mendrisio, internationally renowned Indian architect Bijoy Jain, Pol Petrino's work transcends its mere aesthetic qualities to convey a deep reverence for humanity's coexistence within nature. His vision is informed by the legacy of Performance and Land Art movements and artists, weaving these influences with a personal symbolism. At the threshold of his career, his work has been presented in shows in Switzerland, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Indonesia. Most recent exhibitions include Oltre la Pietra at the Castel Grande, Bellinzona, 2025; Prima Materia at the Palazzo Sforza Cesarini, Genzano, 2024; Under The Cover at the Come Art Space, Carrara, and The Other Art Fair at The Cutaway, Sydney, both in 2023.

C R E D I T S :

Photography of Pol Petrino's creative process and artworks details: Flavio Brancaleone, Courtesy of the Artist

Photography of Pol Petrino's work at Palazzo Molteni: Pui Yi @puipuiphoto

Quotes: Pol Petrino

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