In going through my digital archive, I came across a work from 2019 that, after some time, revealed a detail that deeply affected me and inspired me to translate it onto canvas. The star-shaped hole on his earlobe, initially thought of as a reference to his nationality and the American flag, took on a deeper, more symbolic meaning after an event that featured the subject himself: the 2024 assassination attempt, from which he miraculously escaped. The work, titled 'Cramp,' is a reflection on the figure of Donald Trump, former president of the United States, and his politics. The title 'Cramp' is a pun on his surname 'Trump' and suggests a critique of his policies that have been characterized by a kind of 'cramp' or paralysis that has impeded the country's progress and growth. The star-shaped hole on the earlobe can be seen as an ironic reference to the American flag and Trump's patriotic rhetoric that has often been criticized for being empty and lacking substance. The work is a satirical and critical representation of Trump and his politics, and the title 'Cramp' is an effective choice to convey this message.

Roberto Chessa

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Roberto Chessa, born in Nuoro in 1978, is an artist, painter and professional breakdancer. Ever since his adolescence he took an interest in painting, following his father’s footsteps. His love for art continued through the years: he attended the Art Institute and the Academy of Arts in Sassari. At the same time he approached the Hip Hop culture thanks to many graffiti in his hometown and the movements of boys breakdancing on cardboard. He learned the basic steps by himself and in ’93 moved to Sassari where he established the Sirbones Crew, achieving remarkable results in Italy and abroad. From 2011 until 2015 he lived in London where he kept on dancing and painting. He then got back to Sardinia to attend a painting school by Giovanni Manunta, known as Pastorello. This experience changed his painting radically. He currently lives in Sassari where he carries out his artistic research and teaches the Hip Hop culture to young generations. Painting remains his main activity, a constant aesthetic investigation that grows through geometric paintings with strong visual impact. His painting, apparently abstract, develops from his imaginary Hip Hop. Breakdancer, writer, painter, all this is summarized with a constructivism art. His paintings look like crystallized explosions of colors, elevated shapes, sharp vertexes that try to reach the sky. Shapes of juxtaposed and pleasant colors that seem perfect to be concrete sculptures, futuristic lighthouses. We always come back to the street. Roberto Chessa’s painting is harmless at the first sight, thanks to its pastel colors but it shows a sharpened, powerful and ambitious side. It is a painting that wants to exist, to expand and to be real.