Take a look behind the lens, into the nostalgia of Guido Di Salle and the kiss heard across the blockchains with ‘Solcilian Kiss’. Di Salle connects a new audience to his artwork through a sister image of his iconic Sicilian Kiss open edition.
Venture into the world of high fashion and high contrast photography in this edition of Behind the Art with Di Salle and ‘Solcilian Kiss’.
‘THE ORIGIN’
Guido Di Salle’s artistic journey has been a combination of passion and surroundings he recalls when sitting down with the Exchange Art team. “I was fascinated with photography from a very young age. I was a hairdresser for 22 years and working in that industry I was exposed to photography quite a bit as I worked backstage to do hair for photoshoots, fashion shows, and on set.” Through being in this environment Di Salle soon began to start imagining the perfect image, things he saw in his mind, and no one else was creating the way he envisioned it to be. “The interest I had in photography and the proximity I had to it on a regular basis led me to pick up a camera and start taking photographs in the style I always wanted. My love for imagery also inspired me to delve into collage making and abstract painting, both mediums for which I have a strong fondness of.”
Growing up in the 80s is something that Di Salle recalls fondly and accredits with shaping his style and the way he views much of his artistic endeavors. “I had two older sisters that were always buying the popular glossy high fashion magazines of the time and I would always find myself flipping through the pages and being awestruck with the imagery,” he remembers. Looking back he remembers this era as a golden era of culture, fashion, and photography. “These early magazines and the people that created the imagery for it, names like Helmut Newton, Elen Von Unwerth, Terry Richardson, Mario Testino, and others shaped the way I viewed photography and how it was presented as art.” Di Salle has used this inspiration to create a retro nostalgia that connects deeply in a continually futuristic art ecosystem.
Di Salle’s process of creation is varied and largely depends on what his intentions are at any given time. “If I speak in broad terms, I like to conceptualize something in mind and think about it a little before I ever even consider shooting it. Sometimes I am inspired by the most subtle shadows and light bouncing off a subject's body. Other times it could be a certain texture or color juxtaposed in a way which seems ironic.” Part of the beauty of the process for Di Salle is that he has no set process that he follows from start to finish except that he follows his gut and always shoots what he loves. His goal is to transport the viewer to something new but familiar through his imagery.
‘Solcilian Kiss’
Di Salle makes his Solana debut and bridges the gap between the art communities through ‘Solcilian Kiss’, a sister artwork to the iconic ‘Sicilian Kiss’ artwork which was released as an open edition on Ethereum. Many accredit ‘Sicilian Kiss’ with being an instrumental part of kicking off the open edition, as well as the burn and redeem meta, that became so popular throughout the ETH ecosystem following the release. With over 14k free editions minted of ‘Sicilian Kiss’, the artwork has become, for multiple reasons, a staple of the creator's career. “When I released Sicilian Kiss it was a demonstration of disruption, in that it was the first of its kind and was an example of how artists could release a free OE,” Di Salle mentions.
Known for being a trend starter instead of a follower, Di Salle has been a long-time fan of the underdog spirit of the Solana ecosystem and has been awaiting the perfect moment to debut and signal to collectors that he is here to stay and believes in the blockchain. “The copper lattice was used to represent the interconnectivity of art with other pieces of art (in this case Sicilian Kiss) but also to other blockchains (Solana/Ethereum) as I view blockchains predominantly as a method of distribution for art,” he says. ‘Solcilian Kiss' is meant to stand for an artist's freedom to experiment and use the technology at their disposal to create thought-provoking work.
Di Salle makes sure to state the importance of the life-changing relationships he has created in part due to releasing his artwork on the blockchain and hopes that his Solana expansions serve to unite more people to his craft.
‘Solcilian Kiss’ is a timed Open Edition going live Feb 20th and will be Guido Di Salle’s first artwork on the Solana blockchain- view the artwork on Exchange Art here.
