Gilberto Giardini’s graphic art revived in 2008 after a long spell concentrating on theatre design; it also coincided with a period when he was spending more time in Berlin prior to moving there and becoming a more active part of the gay and queer scene. This portfolio of stylish drawings, mostly monochrome but with strategically placed highlights of pink and straw, offers a personal insight into the nature of sexual desire and fulfilment.

Giardini’s interest in the naked body and how bodies express deep feelings has in the last decade or so been channelled mostly into photography, though he has recently talked about returning more to drawing and painting. In March 2023 Lyubov Melnickowa from Haze Gallery, an international curated platform for contemporary art, interviewed Giardini. You can read the whole interview here; we have chosen a few of the questions and answers to give a flavour of how Giardini’s recent work has developed.

At what point did you realise that you wanted to work in the nude genre?

I have always been fascinated by the naked human being, and it has always been the main subject in my art, whether as a stage character in a space created by me, or in my paintings and illustrations.

Your interest is aimed at expressing through portrait and nude photography – especially male nudity. Why male nudity; is it because it is more difficult to convey emotions through female nudity?

In my paintings and illustrations I have also always portrayed women, but in my current photographic works – or photo visions as I like to call them – I almost exclusively show naked men. This of course stems from the fact that I am personally more attracted to men, but also that as a man some emotional processes are perhaps more accessible to me. Also, most of the time men are less concerned with a perfect look than women. As an aesthetician I am not averse to a beautiful appearance, but focusing on the view into the soul is more important for me.

Tell us about your plans for the future.

Artistically my focus at present is entirely on portrait and nude photography, or perhaps I should say portraits and naked portraits. In recent years I have already been very active and productive in this field, and have had the opportunity to portray numerous inspiring people. But I also feel the desire to revive my painting after a break of many years, and maybe combine it with the photography – we will see.