Karim Ghidinelli was born in Brescia, Italy, and moved with his family to different countries throughout Africa, including Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, and Namibia, giving him non-Western perspectives on life and art. He attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London and eventually completed his studies in the United States.
“My work is based upon passage, mark, and assurance. Identity is naturally a part of the evolutionary process of the passage; the mark is embodied by my distinctive trace on the page. As my work documents the passage of others, it simultaneously assures me of my own journey.
The mutation from print, to portrait, to metal, oil or collage represents the myriad of influences I draw upon when composing my thought. Being the living testament of an eclectic path, it is impossible for me to ignore the possibilities that surround me. My eye reads them all as one.
The work needs to achieve a political identity and needs to express its provenance or dissidence, as life constantly reminds us of the inevitability of politics. The piece is never concluded; rather it symbolizes the continuation of a phase, from myself to the public, from my interpretation to yours. Through its exposure the work obtains necessary nutrients, indispensable for further creation and maintaining the link.”