Anatomical Paintings by Nunzio Paci

Taking the analogy comparing blood vessels and tree branches literally, Nunzio Paci creates oil and graphite paintings that connect humans back to nature. Paci’s works look almost straight from a medical textbook except for one flaw—the trees and animals that sprout from his subjects’ mouths, chests, and necks. Paci ultimately takes a painterly approach to his works, paint dripping down the canvas to add balance to his extreme detail.

Paci’s practice centers on the relationship between man and nature, especially focusing on the visual overlap of our intrinsic and extrinsic systems. The beautiful and minimally colored works could be interpreted as extremely morbid as Paci shows us our ultimate fate when nature takes over.

Nunzio was born in Bologna in 1977 and now lives and works in Italy. Nunzio Paci currently has a solo show including several of the pieces you see here at the Palazzo del Podestà in Bologna through October 12. Nunzio explains the work by saying, “My whole work deals with the relationship between man and Nature, in particular with animals and plants. The focus of my observation is body with its mutations. My intention is to explore the infinite possibilities of life, in search of a balance between reality and imagination.”