Handpainted Wallpapers by Elena Carozzi

​Elena Carozzi was born in Milan and began her journey working in home design with architect Roberto Peragallo. In 1996, she approached the world of art and artistic expression by moving to Sarzana in Liguria, where she became a regular at the studio of her grandfather, one of the founders of the Spatial Movement together with Lucio Fontana. Here, Elena developed her own vision of hand painting wallpapers by combining skilled craftsmanship with her influences from the world of the arts.

Her wallpaper carry this distinctive art flair, blending painting with decorative experience to create mesmerizing designs, ranging from floral scenes to geometric patterns in elegant color combinations. Inspired by the post-impressionist décor of Vuillard and Bonnard, each piece is the reflection of artisanal knowledge and personal expression.

Read our interview with Elena and discover how she was drawn to this medium, her incredible attention to textures and layering and her favorite places in her beloved Sarzana.

​How did you approach the world of design and craftsmanship?

I started in the early '90s, in the workshop of the decorators who worked for Roberto Pangalli's studio. It was a decisive experience. In the years that followed, I developed an informed artistic approach in which painting and decoration would interact and merge. Vuillard, Bonnard, Matisse, as well as 16th-century paintings, are the main reference of my pictorial research, in which any strict definition of style, between figurative and abstraction, is dissolved, all the while maintaining a connection to the natural reference.

My paintings take form through subdued resurfacings and layering of materials, light, stories, and memories. They tell the story of everyday ancient rituals or delve into nature's secret shapes. They burst out of the canvas into the environment in the form of wallpapers, tapestries, and upholsteries that create an array of linguistic interference and visual appeal, existing between artistic expression and decoration.

​Why did you choose to create exclusively hand-painted tapestries? What draws you to this medium?

Firstly, the spatial dimension: the possibility to create a painting of grand proportions, to play with materials and color, to evoke suggestive interplay of light in the surrounding space, ultimately releasing the work from the confines of the space and its canvas. Hand-painting, even in case of patterns, is a medium that ensures that no reproductions are alike.

Materials and colors bring the surface to life. Particular attention to traditional materials and techniques, which has always distinguished my artistic style, allows each subject to arise from careful research of base materials - from simple to rare and prized vintage wallpapers, or silk, straw, linen canvas, painted and embroidered jute - and crafting methods - pigments, binding agents, oil, and pastels.

​How would you describe your style and aesthetic?

My style is mainly inspired by certain painting canons that I’ve observed and studied for a long time. The natural environment is the primary inspiration behind my wallpapers, followed by the relationship between materials - and their expressive qualities - present in ancient and 19th-century painting: both guide my research for novel solutions and interpretations.

Is there a specific project you dream of achieving?

I have multiple and ongoing projects, primarily using paint as a medium. I soon plan to develop stunning prints of my prototypes as well as projects and collaborations with brands that may benefit from my creativity.

What is your favorite place in Sarzana?

There are many places in Sarzana that are important to me: many interiors, homes of relatives, close friends, and artists. Even the interior of historic buildings are intimate and astonishing worlds, each telling stories and revealing hidden passions.

Last but not least, the surrounding nature, a boundless source of inspiration: you can marvel at the scenery of the coastline with the Mediterranean scrub blending into the Apuan Alps across short distances, while the forested landscapes become evermore enchanting with the change of the seasons.