Marco Valoti: Sunsets – Between Beauty and Social Critique

The sunset, a natural phenomenon both daily and mystical, is at the heart of Marco Valoti’s Sunsets series. A collection of 22 paintings (47 x 38 cm), created with acrylic on paper between 2002 and 2003, that goes far beyond the mere aesthetics of twilight. These works, inspired by the artist’s travels through the former Soviet Union and his immersion in the Andean landscapes, transcend the contemplation of the celestial spectacle to question humanity’s relationship with its own existence, between dreams and social criticism.

Travel as a Source of Inspiration

Marco Valoti’s work is not limited to a simple visual transcription of the sunset. It is a profound exploration of the human realities he witnessed during his travels. While journeying through the lands of the former Soviet Union, he observed the traces left by a vanished regime, populations marked by decades of brutal change, and landscapes imbued with a stark and melancholic beauty. His time in the Andes, on the other hand, confronted him with another reality: that of indigenous peoples, their sacred connection to nature, and the constant struggle for survival in a majestic yet unforgiving environment.

From these experiences emerges a vision of the sunset that goes beyond mere admiration. In Valoti’s art, twilight becomes a language, a testimony to the cycle of life and death, a mirror of history and human struggles.

Between Colors and Reflections: A Unique Pictorial Approach

In Sunsets, light and color are worked with striking intensity. Valoti studies the reflections of the sun as if they were negatives of a photographic film, sometimes reversing chromatic relationships to reveal an underlying reality. The palette, at times dazzling, at times melancholic, captures the infinite nuances of the transition from day to night. The fiery skies are not just an aesthetic exaltation; they are also a metaphor for the tensions and contradictions of humanity.

The cosmic illusion that unfolds in his works reminds us that the world’s beauty is fleeting and that each twilight marks the end of a cycle, the announcement of a disappearance. Humanity, witnessing this spectacle, is caught between wonder and nostalgia, unable to halt the march of time.

A Social Message Behind the Light

Beyond the visual poetry, there is always a critical dimension in Valoti’s work. His sunsets are not mere contemplative landscapes; they reveal a humanity that too often turns away from its own tragedies. When the sun sets, it does not merely offer a majestic spectacle—it also plunges into shadow the harsh realities ignored during the day.

The artist seems to pose an essential question: what remains after the sun? Behind the beauty of colors, there is solitude, social injustice, precariousness, and the forgotten. His works, juxtaposing dazzling light and the threat of emptiness, convey this tension between wonder and unease.

“When the word is burned alive, man neither dies nor lives.“

This phrase, accompanying the reflection on Sunsets, highlights the idea of an imposed silence, of the inability at times to express what must be said. In a world where the cries of the oppressed are often silenced, the sun continues its relentless course, an indifferent witness to human history.

An Artistic and Philosophical Gesture

Through Sunsets, Marco Valoti does not merely paint a natural phenomenon; he transforms it into an artistic gesture rich with meaning. The setting sun becomes a symbol of endings, of oblivion, but also of transition. Behind it, darkness looms—an uncertain void—while dawn, in turn, will announce a new birth.

This series of paintings, through its deep reflection and intense palette, invites a dual contemplation: that of the sky and that of ourselves. It reminds us that behind the light, there is often a shadow we refuse to see, but that must be confronted.

Marco Valoti, through his art, pushes us to look beyond the surface, to seize the moment while questioning its meaning. Sunsets is not just an ode to the beauty of the world; it is also a call to remember what lurks in the shadows.