Roberto Kusterle - Cartacei

Studio Faganel 2020

Paper is the title of Roberto Kusterle's artist book. The term Paper refers us to the meaning of that adjective, which declares what material something is made of. 'Of paper' means, in fact, and is more often used with a negative nuance, understood as not noble, not concretized and easily perishable. Kusterle tries to give back to the word 'paper' only a positive meaning and restore some significant balances. The images of the series derive and exist thanks to the paper, including the human figures represented in them. The 'Paper' of the title can be thought of as real imaginary creatures of the artist's narrative with a clear reference to the classification of species. Their 'reality', this time, does not seek similarity with the animal or plant world as in previous and well-known metamorphoses of the artist, but is sanctioned in itself, as if these figures could really be generated from paper. With this series Kusterle expresses his visions, but also tells and reveals the concrete, pragmatic path he has taken to create each single image.

The book is designed as a folder containing images in single sheets, reminiscent of a drawer or box of souvenirs, old photographs or other types of documents. Each photograph of each folder, in order to represent the diversity of evolution and deterioration over time, is handled by Kusterle manually using different paper aging techniques. So there is not only one book identical to another, but also every single page of it. In each folder, all the images are then wrapped in a piece of recycled paper, the same that the artist used to create the background for the photographs in the series. Finally, each folder, and each image, are characterized by the use of stamps for titling and numbering, recalling the world of paper archives from which the research took inspiration.

Limited edition of 100 numbered and signed with an original print on recovery paper 49 × 58 mm + 14 special 100 numbered and signed with an original print on Hahnemühle paper 270 × 210 mm, English, 21,5 x 27,3 cm

ISBN 978-88-943821-8-1