ONE SMALL SEED MAGAZINE Issue #30 dig.05 | Page 26

MATTEO PUGLIESE His artwork and sculpture, which he has an intense emotional attachment to, represents important phases in his life. Phase One - “Extra Moenia” Phase Two - “The Guardians” Phase Three - “Beetles”. “extra moenia” is like the birth & struggle as an artist. Phase One (“Extra Moenia”) consists of bronze sculptures, created in the male form, and emerging out of and protruding into walls… almost like they are floating in air. This phase resembled a difficult passage in time for Pugliese - a complex period in his life. People often ask him: ‘Why men?’ The reason being is that there is a strong biographical meaning attached. “Extra Moenia” tells his story in a literal sense of the word, whereby this phase is is like the birth and struggle of Pugliese - he is emerging and ‘coming out’ as an artist.