Vero Reato

Multimedia sculptor

©Vero Reato

©Jaquline Mangin

Cultural concrete

Vero mixes her inventiveness with new technologies
Her works seek to mirror the nature that surrounds us
She is inspired by the macrocosm and microcosm

There are times when craftsmanship unfolds through non-conventional materials, which are not tied to a time-honoured tradition. This is the case with Vero Reato, who specialises in the use of Ultra High Performance Fiber Concrete, a fibre-reinforced cementitious material with increased durability, tensile ductility and toughness normally used in road and building constructions. “I have always been interested in concrete,” she explains, and I always liked to work on different aspects of creation: design of objects, sculptures, videos, computer generated images, illustrations, paintings, restoration of frescos. “She explores mineral matter and develops sensitive and offbeat works, where the mineral and organic worlds fuse into multiple cells to obtain what she calls “Concrete Culture”.

Interview

©Gilles Limdorfer

©Vero Reato

Why does concrete fascinate you so much?: I come from a family of builders, for four generations. But I was never really interested in their work. However, three years after my father’s death, concrete appeared in my life. Since then, cement has flowed through my veins. It had to be written in my genes.
How did you discover Ultra High Performance Fiber Concrete?: In 2012, I heard about a canoe-kayak made of some kind of “light concrete”. That’s what triggered my interest. The starting point was to find the formula for this revolutionary mortar. But in these circles, secrets are well kept. I had to fight!
Do you remember your first creation?: It was a wall sculpture with concrete, wood and bamboo inclusions. I still have it in my workshop. It has been exhibited in a number of shows, but I will not part with it. It is the Alpha, the start of a long series of creations that I want to keep in perpetual evolution.
Did you have to develop specific skills?: Before finding the right technique suited to my creative needs, I experimented with concrete, mixing it with organic substances and testing its consistency and resistance. I also carried out research on mineral oxides to obtain tones that I wanted as natural as possible.

Vero Reato is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2012