Gold Heist

Gold Heist by Alessandro Paglia

Paglia uses his work to explore the life of an object, its story, its personality, the ingenuity of its creator, and what he calls its hidden world. Many of his chosen subjects are iconic pieces in terms of design history or popular culture, but his latest collection includes characters from the world of cartoons presented in a whole new way. For his dazzling ‘Midas Touch’ quartet, he has created a unique printing method, using a hand embossing technique with gold leaf finish to create a series of striking editions. Due to the handmade nature of each piece there are slight differences to every character, making each edition highly collectable.

With his originals, Paglia works in pen and favours rich, vivid tones and vibrant textures. Composing entirely by hand, he utilises intense inky blacks to amplify the interplay between the natural light and his chosen subject. The rough grain of cotton paper further accentuates this effect as he builds layer after layer of colour to achieve a nuanced perfection. Each piece takes at least 50 hours and sometimes up to 250, but the finished effect is remarkable – a unique and innovative visual statement of genuine power.