Silvia De Marchi
Melzo Italy, b. 1967
Biography
Silvia De Marchi is an Italian artist whose practice investigates materiality, transformation, and the passage of time through a process-driven approach to abstraction. Her works emerge from an ongoing exploration of surface, texture, and the hidden layers that exist beneath what is immediately visible.
Each piece begins with large sheets of Fabriano paper treated with a mixture of ink, iron filings, sand, silver powder, and other natural materials. Through this process, De Marchi creates monochromatic surfaces rich in texture, subtle irregularities, and material depth. The paper is then exposed to natural elements such as sunlight, wind, and rain, allowing time and environmental forces to actively participate in the creation of the work.
For De Marchi, the resulting wear, erosion, and imperfections are not accidental but essential. Fragility, resilience, deterioration, and endurance become visible records of the material’s journey. These traces of transformation reveal the tension between permanence and impermanence, control and chance.
Once altered by time and nature, the paper is torn, cut, and reassembled into carefully balanced compositions. Through this act of deconstruction and reconstruction, De Marchi creates multilayered works that simultaneously conceal and reveal their underlying structures. Fragments overlap, surfaces shift, and hidden depths emerge, inviting viewers to look beyond the immediate appearance of the work.
Balancing rigorous process with organic transformation, De Marchi’s practice explores how materials carry memory and how time becomes embedded within matter. Her works offer a contemplative reflection on change, vulnerability, and the quiet beauty found within imperfection.
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