SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Federico Solmi’s “Adrift” exhibit at the Everson museum is combining hand-painted visuals and video game technology to bring paintings to life. 23 years after he first combined those elements, the new exhibit continues that marriage.
The full video paintings take time to make. Solmi draws and paints everything by hand before scanning the images into the video game engine. The finished product is a narrative piece, walking the audience through scores of paintings in a handful of minutes.
“You probably see a thousand paintings cycling in three minutes,” Solmi said.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT – ADRIFT
Federico Solmi, Artist- Yeah, I call them “video paintings.”
Christian Locker, Reporter – Have you ever heard of those before? Federico Solmi is an artist who uses gaming engines to bring his paintings to life. He uses handmade visuals and runs them through a computer engine to mold characters to the models he creates. Typically, the audience would see one painting in each of these detailed frames. But in Solmi’s work?
Solmi – You probably see a thousand paintings cycling in about three minutes.
Locker – He first combined gaming technology and drawings in 2003. It allowed him to create narrative works that spoke to people. The message this time? Warmth.
Solmi – The digital world is often cold and detached. This feels very friendly.
Locker – Solmi’s video paintings aren’t the only unique piece the new exhibit showcases. He hands over the keys to his world through his virtual reality experience. Everson Museum curator Garth Johnson is impressed by Solmi’s ability to bring people into his work.
Garth Johnson, Curator – He’s blurring the lines between you as a spectator or a participant.
Locker – While most of Solmi’s work attempts to bring people into the virtual world, this painting behind me makes a statement about the world we live in. It features historical figures from George Washington to Elon Musk. Its statement is a simple one.
Solmi – It represents the collapse of western ideal and western thought.
Locker – Don’t let Solmi’s bright colors fool you. His art always has something to say. Christian Locker, N-C-C News.
The video paintings are not the only unique piece of the exhibit. The audience also has the opportunity to walk through Solmi’s own world in a virtual reality experience. It’s called “The Bacchanalian Ones,” and it allows the viewer to walk through a party at a bathhouse. It features vibrant colors and interactive characters.
Everson Museum curator Garth Johnson is impressed with Solmi’s ability to bring the audience into his world.
“He’s blurring the lines between you as a spectator or as a participant,” he said.
Even though Solmi’s work features bright colors – which he says is to make the cold digital world feel more friendly – he still wants his art to have meaning.
The only piece at the exhibit to not feature video, titled “Ship of Fools,” does just that. It features a number of historical and modern figures, from Plato all the way to Donald Trump.
“It represents… the collapse of western ideal and western thought,” Solmi said.
The piece was finished before the 2024 election. Solmi says he thinks the piece, which depicts a shipwreck of humanity, has only become more impactful and relevant as time has gone on.
“In a way, this painting I think has forseen a lot of the things that are happening right now,” he said. “The fall of NATO, the fall of western morality.”
The exhibit will run from Jan. 30 through April 19, 2026.