Frammenti (2021) represents a profound investigation of memory and identity, transforming the way we understand remembrance itself. Rather than viewing memories as fixed artifacts, Contiero presents them as living, breathing entities that fragment, scatter, and reconstitute in endless cycles. The collection’s 555 unique works capture this dynamic through compositions that begin as ordered geometric forms before undergoing systematic destruction and eventual reunion.
These fragmented compositions draw inspiration from the modernist tradition of exploring fragmentation, echoing the fractured perspectives of Cubism while building upon pioneers like Vera Molnár who first explored systematic fragmentation through computational means. Each piece follows an emotional arc: stability gives way to explosion, individual fragments drift in space, then gradually find their way back to wholeness. This cycle repeats infinitely, suggesting that memory itself is not a static repository but an active process of continuous reconstruction.
Developed during Contiero’s time in Berlin and released through Art Blocks Curated in May 2021, Frammenti represents both personal breakthrough and artistic manifesto. The work transforms lived experiences of cultural dislocation and creative isolation into universal insights about identity formation, demonstrating how fragmentation becomes the necessary prelude to new forms of connection. This philosophical framework of breakdown as breakthrough establishes the conceptual foundation that would anchor his entire subsequent practice.
What makes Frammenti particularly compelling is its treatment of time and permanence. The animated elements suggest that even when forms dissolve beyond recognition, the original fragments persist. They carry their memories to new configurations. This optimistic vision of transformation echoes throughout Contiero’s later works, from the gestural renewal of Rinascita (2021) to the embodied data of Battito (2023), establishing fragmentation and reconstruction as the essential rhythm underlying both artistic creation and human experience.