Italian visual artist Cris Devil has music and movement (and occasionally dance too) at the centre of his work. Guitars are everywhere – as motifs on walls and floors or flying through the air.
His creations recall theatre set designs, and Devil fills these imaginary spaces with objects and figures. In one – Trash Dance – there is a ballerina on pointe in a red dress, a van Gogh self-portrait, plastic rubbish bags, a ‘bag for life’, a Corfu ceiling painting by Vincenzo Galloppi… and, naturally, a guitar and his guitar motif.
Cris, how much do we need to know? Should we draw our own ‘messages’ or are there precise ones that you are conveying?
Each element in my works carries a specific meaning – nothing is random. The ballerina represents the beauty and fragility of life, but also the contrast with the chaos and filth of the trash. The garbage bags are there to remind us of the devastating impact humans have on the environment, van Gogh symbolises the tormented artist, the personal and creative struggle.
And the guitars?
The guitar is my signature, a constant connection between art and music.
What are you saying with Trash Dance?
In this composition, I want to reflect on how much our society has become a place where beauty and decay coexist, the one often unaware of the other. The message is clear – we need to find a balance, recognize the damage we are doing, and act to preserve what is truly valuable.
There is a strong theatrical feel to your works. Have you been approached to design for the theatre?
No, but I would love to. It’s such a magical time for us, especially since theatres, and opera houses in particular, have a long tradition of working with contemporary artists on sets and costumes. Now, they’re going even further by asking artists to create something that truly represents a single production. I deeply value these collaborations with today’s great artists, like those at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and I hope to have the opportunity to do so very soon.
Nature, and water especially, is a common thread linking many of your works.
Nature is our home, and it is crucial to respect it. I draw inspiration from its shapes and colours, but also from the contrast between everything that actually is “natural” and that which has been created by man, like art and music. The guitar, in particular, is the thread that connects all these dimensions. It brings sound to the environment – it is the voice of past and present.
Respect of our planet is not just an artist’s airy vision, but Devil puts his money (and time) where his art is, so to speak, raising money for humanitarian projects in Africa.
I’m a member of a mission group in my small town, made up entirely of volunteers. Together, we’ve opened a restaurant where each of us has a different role – working in the kitchen, waiting service, washing dishes. We also organise fund-raising events to buy material that is sent to Africa for building work that takes place there directly. Some of the money raised is used to fund treatment for sick children.
Does any of this affect your art?
My experience as a volunteer in Africa has brought deeper meaning to my art, as well as to my life. I’ve worked in places like Tanzania, Madagascar and Congo, constructing wells, orphanages and hospitals for children fighting diseases such as AIDS or the lack of essential resources. There, water is a rare and precious resource, whereas we use it without thinking and so often waste it. This inequality has had a profound impact on me, spurring me to include water as a powerful, disruptive symbol in my work.
My works are intended not only as a condemnation of pollution and consumerism, but also to draw attention to things that for us are a given, but for others are a matter of life and death. In Africa, I saw the poverty and suffering of orphaned children and those suffering from AIDS, with no access to the treatment and facilities that we have always been used to and whose services we take for granted.
So you’ve made an active commitment?
I want to do what little I can to try and offer a better future to those who are less fortunate. Our work includes building schools, installing water systems for rural communities, and assisting single mothers and families who lack resources.
What I’m doing in Africa, just like my art, is a way of connecting with humanity and remembering that we are all linked by the resources we have in common, which we must protect and share. In the end, though, as all the volunteers admit, it is “they”, the recipients of our actions, who have nothing, yet give the most compared to what we do for them. It’s incredible how much their simplicity and strength has taught me about the essence of life, giving me a completely new perspective that I try to communicate in all my work.
Devil’s surrealistic dreamscapes with their curious juxtapositions, strong colours, bold perspectives and playful scaling are both thought-provoking and playful. He plays with gravity and defies other natural laws – objects that should be underwater are above it, and vice versa; floors are animated; objects float in the air.
Playing with gravity and reversing the rules of physics and of reality is my way of challenging conventions and making people reflect. We live in a society full of rules and facades, and sometimes we need to change perspective to see the truth. These dreamlike elements are my way of saying that reality is only a perception, and we must find the courage to go beyond it.
What technology do you use to compose your works?
I use a computer with 3D programs to bring my digital works to life, combining them with various physical techniques like resin coating, 3D printing, airbrushing, and spray cans. I enjoy blending digital and hand-crafted elements, creating a bridge between the virtual world and the tangible one. The bridge is real but also a metaphor.
In August, Artcrush, which displays digital art in urban landscapes, showed Devil’s work on more than 1,000 screens in Belgium and 700 in Melbourne, Australia.
With the Artcrush project my works have been seen in Belgium and Australia, bringing my artistic vision to an international audience. Artcrush aims to bring digital art closer to ordinary people, displaying it on urban screens in an innovative and democratic way. I’m proud to have been chosen for this project, thanks to curator, Sandie Zanini.
It was a unique opportunity to bring art alive in the urban environment and create new links between people frantically on the move and artists aiming with their skills to slip into those busy lives with an idea, a hint, a reflection. It was extremely stimulating to have this opportunity.
Let’s return to music… tell me more about guitars. They are everywhere, even filling the sky in ‘The Last Supper’ work (Unusual Dinner).
For me, the guitar is a symbol of connection between all dimensions of art. It appears everywhere – an intimate presence in my artistic creations. The guitar represents music as lifeblood, present throughout life and in every corner of the universe. Placing it in the sky, as I do in my work Unusual Dinner, is a way of making it resonate at vertiginous heights – it’s an instrument that links the sacred and the secular, the everyday and eternity. In this sense, it is an instrument it knows no limits.
Then there is your guitar motif with four guitars forming a square, which you use to make patterns on walls, tablecloths, floors and so on. It can be found in all of the images I have seen of your work.
The square represents stability and order, but also a kind of frame for creativity. Using the guitar in this form gives it a sense of consistency, as if it is an integral part of every dimension of life, a constant in my art. It’s a signature, a sign that guides you through the work.
Electric guitars can be set up to produce a ‘fuzz’ sound, usually by use of a pedal, which distorts the sound to emphasise the upper frequencies. The resulting exhilaratingly screechy sound has been employed for countless rock solos. Devil created his own exhilarating fuzz guitar, the ‘Fly Fuzz’, a winged guitar that is seen flying through his animated works.
Fly Fuzz is freedom. It’s my vision of the guitar breaking away from the ground, from its musical roots, and flying. It’s the fusion of music and sculpture, a work that speaks of dreams, of expansion, of having no limits. As I said before, the guitar isn’t just an instrument but an ‘idea’ that can rise up and carry you far away.
Above all, Fly Fuzz is linked with his brother with whom he created many artworks and who died recently.
Devil even makes and plays his own guitars.
Cris, what does music mean to you?
It’s pure energy! It’s commonly considered to be the universal language that connects everything and everyone, bringing sound to the soul’s emotions. It’s impossible to put into words everything we have inside us, as the times and we ourselves change. Music can do this; in fact, that’s what music is for. It’s a sweet language even when it punches; it aims to reach out to everyone and to seduce. And it does so! It’s vibration, colour and life, just as the guitar is for me – an extension of my own body.
That name. Before his artworks, his name caught my attention. ‘Cris Devil’ is striking and memorable, but he grew up as Cristiano Febbrari. His explanation of his ‘nome d’arte’ sums up his artistic outlook:
‘Cris Devil’ represents the duality of my style and my work. The name combines my sensitive and irreverent sides, showing how I can be both gentle and aggressive, without losing sight of my message. It is not about being good or bad, but about being able to freely express all the nuances of my artistic world, with irony and passion.
Find out more about Cris Devil on his WEBSITE, follow him on INSTAGRAM, and even buy his works from Zanini Arte.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.