“Catharsis is both a driving force and an ultimate goal for me,” asserts Grassi. Feelings and their transmutations are indeed at the centre of her pictorial research, which she expands to different mediums to expand the very idea of hallucinations and dreams into essential images.

Your art revolves around the concept of “catharsis”. What does this refer to?

The concept of catharsis is indeed the foundation of everything I do on an artistic level, it is the very reason why I started painting. Therefore, catharsis is both a driving force and an ultimate goal for me. It releases me and makes me feel lighter on the inside. Through the use of materials, the choice of colors, and the manipulation of matter itself, I am able to express what I feel. It is an ongoing goal, always within reach yet simultaneously utopian.

The materiality of your paintings is able to establish an emotional connection with the viewer, an almost sensory visual experience is sought after.

Creating is vital for me, and even more so is creating something that is not only tangible but almost three-dimensional, if you can call it that. My works, especially the most recent ones, have a strong material presence. It is crucial for me to touch them, to be almost overwhelmed by them. A work that breaks the two-dimensionality of the canvas inevitably captivates me more. It is able to physically reach out and color comes forth, engulfing me.

How does your practice move fluidly between different mediums?

Everything I do is a result of my dreams, which are inevitably influenced by my emotions and life experiences. Moving and experimenting with different mediums is an expressive necessity that arises from the need to faithfully portray what my mind creates in its most hallucinatory moments.

What are your current research questions? In other words, what is your current urge to communicate through your practice?

I feel that my most recent research focuses on self-understanding. I believe that I have returned to a childlike state, a state I refer to as "the age of whys". I am constantly questioning everything, from the etymology of a word to why we exist on this earth. At the core of it all is the underlying question, "why am I who I am? Who is Giorgia? What is my mission in this world?" To quote Coelho, "What is my personal legend?". Answering these questions is not easy. I try to do so through my creations, by allowing my hands and mind to go into automatic mode, producing sketches and models. I simply want to understand, although that may be asking a lot.

How are aesthetics manifested in your work?

In a very spontaneous way, I believe that my works have a simplified image in order to communicate more directly with the viewer. Ideally, by removing all the unnecessary decorations, the message can be conveyed in a more straightforward and raw manner.