Valentina Bartolini

Her artworks unfold as quiet meditations on identity: They are built from fragile, tactile materials that speak to the instability of memory and the persistence of longing. Central to her process is the use of handmade paper, a material that serves not only as a surface but as an active participant in meaning-making. Layered, torn, and reassembled, the paper carries imprints of touch and time, preserving the gestures of its making. It functions as a vessel for exploring the passage of time, the fragility of recollection and the resilience of matter. Each work emerges as a sensitive and transformative act of becoming, an intimate record of transformation through touch, repetition and care. Through this ongoing exploration, her practice invites reflection on the porous boundaries between self and place, revealing how identity, like paper, can be both delicate and enduring, always in the process of unfolding.

Drawing with color and oil pastels on Japanese Sekishu paper, Mountain’s Tail engages with a material whose origins stretch back to ancient Japan, historically reserved for official documents, books and artworks. Bartolini harnesses Sekishu paper’s delicate translucency and off-white hue, as well as its remarkable qualities: though exceptionally thin, it endures through time. These attributes allow her to create and sustain imaginative inner landscapes and hybrid chimerical worlds.

Building on the dreamlike, memory-infused terrains of her Sky Ladder series and the meticulous, liminal explorations of her Relevé series, Mountain’s Tail, her first large-scale work, expands these inner worlds into a commanding, immersive presence, where delicate materials and fantastical forms converge to evoke both wonder and contemplation. An enigmatic presence stands at the centre of the composition: a mountain whose clouds unfold like a peacock’s tail. Mount Hymettus, as seen by Bartolini from her window, becomes a silent witness of nature’s continuous transformation.