Artworks
Thought dedicated to Industrial Archaeology
"I have always admired old industrial buildings, once tools of mankind, then abandoned to themselves like cathedrals of a bygone industrial era. Isolated places, leaning perilously, sometimes enveloped by wild nature, abandoned fragments, corners colored by the mastery of the palette of time, the same that will determine their inevitable decay.
A lived-in company that transforms and becomes a work of art in itself, an unnoticed world, silent but alive, imbued with ideas, dreams, sacrifices, and human toil, a fantastic and vibrant work of colors, lights, shadows, oxidized metals, weathered bricks, walls tinted with precious earth, sometimes fallen, ceilings collapsed.
My personal homage and all the passion to these monuments, symbols of an industrial past that now lives in the garb of art."
Massimo Contran
EIFFEL1
"Paris has always been my passion, for everything it represents. In particular, the Eiffel Tower stands out as a symbol of the industrial era and creativity.
Because there is no industry without creativity. Descend the tower's stairs, especially at twilight, when the first lights come on to illuminate its metal structures, and you will discover a world of many paintings like this one, ready to be captured by the passionate artistic eye: "mechanics in its artistic expression."
This is the first of my Eiffel pieces, in which ochre hues dominate alongside shades of Cassel Earth, to which I wanted to dedicate one of my first developed T-shirts as a tribute to this technical spectacle."
Massimo Contran
POLISH TEXILE MACHINE
"Who knows... coincidences? In another work-related experience of a few months, I find myself in Lodz, Poland. This city, greatly affected by the worst parts of World War II, is now experiencing strong growth. It leaves behind a monumental and splendid cotton mill, completely revitalized for commercial purposes. Many of the workers there were Jewish. In one area, there is a magnificent textile museum with original machinery, some of which still functions for demonstrations."
Massimo Contran
For an eye attentive to detail, the beauty of the metal cannot be ignored. Over time, it takes on incredible colors: stained with oil, cloth dust, gears worn by endless processes. A tribute to all of this.
BIELLESE TEXILE MACHINE
"My brief period (due to work) lived in Biella made me discover a wonderful world, which is the textile industry. Biella has been the center of the Italian textile industry for years. Today, only a few important brands remain, but the history and the traces of a glorious past remain, which have inspired many of my works. The city has a charming decadent atmosphere, and the abandoned industries are like empty cathedrals along a path known as the 'Strada della Lana' (Wool Road)."
Massimo Contran
In a museum called 'ex fabbrica' (former factory) in Pray, I found these old machines used for textile processing, operated in the past solely by the power of a river's water. It was an experience that fascinated me like a child in a new playroom and gave me incredible memories and inspirations to create new works: paintings within paintings..."
Massimo Contran
BOILER
"From the experience of monochrome to the introduction of a disruptive element.
Technically, nothing new in the world of art, but personally, it represents a contemplation and at the same time an evolution towards something undefined.
The need to change patterns without knowing where they will lead. Yellow as an increasingly important element of change: light and provocation to dare, to think more broadly.
From a life made of patterns, monochromatic framings, to a colorful itch that demands life."
Massimo Contran
YELLOW_BLUE BARRELS
"From oil painting to mixed media on paper...!
Starting with a new technique has been an exhilarating experience: pastels, markers, oil pastels, pencils, etc. Creating the yellow barrel was a continuous sequence of ideas and drawings, which later evolved into new clothing pieces to wear. It's like playing art within art... But most importantly, I managed to reproduce the sense of darkness and shadow from which the barrel emerges, just as I saw it the first time in that abandoned company.
Massimo Contran
SUGAR REFINERY
"The development of the yellow barrel. Entering an old Piedmontese company, I find in a corner, amidst stacked furniture and various pieces, a half-rusty barrel, emerging from an almost misty shadow, as if it were watching, remaining there immobile in time.
An inanimate object to be emptied or filled, the Yellow Barrel can represent ourselves and the fear of opening that lid to discover who we truly are and what we have carefully preserved: untapped potential, the fear of breaking free, of changing, of exploring new paths, new energies, new challenges to face. Alternatively, leaving it closed and lifeless for the rest of our time, like a colorful itch in a life of sufficient monochrome.
From this painting emerges the idea of the yellow barrel placed at the center of a superstructure made of established patterns and pillars.
To it, I dedicate the most iconic value of my streetwear style."
Massimo Contran"
WHEAT GRINDER
"From the industrial context to the production detail, this painting represents my personal orientation towards the monochromatic mechanical detail of the micro-industrial world and the passion and admiration for those who design production machinery. An ideological transition to complete my industrial artistic journey. Transforming a machine into a form of 'mechanical portrait.'"
Massimo Contran
EXPLOSION
"The explosion represents for me change, a sort of internal and increasingly conscious metamorphosis that in life, one must listen to their inner voices when they say it's time to change something, even if it's risky.
Born partly for fun and a desire to informally play with color, the first developed T-shirt starts right from this painting, which I carefully preserve (just like Scrooge McDuck preserves his first dime in the comics!).
The first product, the first idea, the initial satisfaction, and the desire to build something new: a personal project that finally manages to bring together all my experiences.
Massimo Contran
BUTTERFLY AND FOUR-LEAF CLOVER
"The passion for a perfect world like nature, particularly insects; the fascination with the inventions of automaton animals by inventor Jacques de Vaucanson and everything related to mechanical movement, has inevitably led me to develop vibrant and colorful ideas."
Massimo Contran
HEARTS
"Two hearts developed one after the other, with locks and keys, sometimes patched up and/or damaged, worn by experiences; sometimes they open up like a book to those on the other side who deserve it."
Massimo Contran
SKID AND MANHOLE
"Creativity is a fuse that, once ignited, sets off a cascade effect and a whirlwind of ideas with the desire to challenge oneself. These two prints are an example of it. Every object I saw and created became the parent of a new idea. From meticulously planned oil paintings aimed at achieving the best over a period of prolonged work, to developing intense yet rapid drawings to make room for continuous new ideas..."
Massimo Contran
