Born in Salerno (1980) Max Coppeta is a pioneer of contemporary art and the creator of the first Scannographic Work in history (“Il Regalo di Dio”, Naples, 2001). Trained in Scenography and Visual Arts, he refined his multimedia aesthetic through collaborations with masters such as Studio Azzurro and La Fura dels Baus.

Following a robust career in Visual Marketing and Design, since 2012 he has focused on his “Synthetic Rains” project: a visionary series that uses chemical compounds to simulate the mysteries of nature. His installations have been exhibited in global hubs including Tokyo, Houston, Singapore, and Venice, becoming a subject of academic study for prestigious institutions like the Filiberto Menna Foundation and the D’Ars Foundation, University of Salerno, Polytechnic University of Milan, University of Turin / Multidams, University of Naples / Cultural Heritage.

Your artistic career began in 2001 with an exhibition of your work in Naples. How has your art evolved since then?

Truly, authentic research goes hand in hand with life itself. The exhibition in Naples, in Piazza del Plebiscito, was probably the first showcase that allowed me to interact with a wide audience: I was just 21 years old and was presenting my first ‘scannographic’ work.
Even though I studied scenography, I have always believed in innovation.

My initial approach was strongly oriented towards digital—despite starting from traditional media—with projects that have received major international recognition. However, the real turning point came when I decided to move beyond the purely immaterial dimension and engage with matter. I wanted to translate that metaphysical imagery, until then narrated digitally, into physical installations and “micro-spectacles” in the form of tangible works, capable of inhabiting real space.

Describe your work in 3 words.

DECEPTIVE / MUTABLE / METAPHYSICAL

My works constantly play with the viewer’s perception. Through the use of crystallized liquids, glass, and refractions, I seek to create what I call a “credible deception.” My research challenges the eye to distinguish between natural and artificial, between fluid and solid, transforming matter into a visual paradox capable of disorienting and captivating.

For me, a work is never static, even when physically still. Through interaction with ambient light, the surrounding space, and the viewer’s movement, my creations continually change. This characteristic reflects my exploration of “becoming” and “lazy sculpture”: the work seems to expand beyond its physical boundaries to exist in an ever-changing temporal and atmospheric dimension.

Beneath the technical rigor and the use of industrial or technological materials, I ignite a profound search for meaning. My work is not a simple aesthetic exercise, but an investigation into invisible concepts such as gravity, time, and the soul. As emerges from my notes and reflections, making art for me means “laying bare to express the sense of the absolute,” making my works bridges between tangible reality and an inner world made of symbols and silences.

How would you describe your experience during the last edition of Arte Laguna Prize? How has this event influenced your career?

Many years have passed, but I still clearly remember that energizing experience. At that time (since 2012), I was pursuing a new research project in which transparency and water were the absolute protagonists. Water, in particular, was a simulation capable of deceiving even the most attentive eye, evoking profound suggestions and perceptions.

I used to participate in competitions aligned with a research and experimental approach, and I immediately identified Arte Laguna 2014 as the ideal context for Long Drop. I entered without any expectations, until I was informed that the work had been shortlisted. I was surprised and deeply satisfied: bringing a glass sculpture to Venice—in the realm of the world’s best workshops—was no small challenge.
Since then, my research has been the subject of significant evaluation, and I can say with absolute certainty that the award was a true springboard for my career.