A conceptual artist at heart, Nannucci is constantly seeking a certain purity in his work that aims to unsheathe the work of art from its aesthetic shell and expose its experiential essence as immediately and viscerally as possible. In his own words, Nannucci believes that, through his treatment of text and colour in architectural spaces, ‘‘the image transcends the limits of the representation, becoming a mental image, a virtual one, an image born from a dream or a dream with eyes wide open, a visualised and relative image, which can be evoked by a single word, a sound, or a scent.” That is mainly the reason behind why neon lights play such a big part in Nannucci’s work: although pure and bare, they allow for connections to happen with - as well as activate - other systems such as language and the perception of space. As the artist himself admits: ‘‘neon allows me to shape and reshape space into sensations and concepts that come very close to the degree zero of representation, while opening up new perspectives and horizons of perception and interaction with the reality.’’
 

‘Maurizio Nannucci: Where to Start From’ at MAXXI - Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo in Rome, Italy, will be on display through October 18th 2015. Exhibition catalogue available from Mousse Edizioni.