About
I am Luigi Masecchia, from Naples, born in 1975. I graduated from the Boccioni Art Institute and for years worked as a graphic designer and creative director, including at the Affari Creativi studio. Then the bottle caps took over.
«It started almost by chance. One day, walking into a bar, I noticed a big jar full of crown caps: I asked the barman what happened to them. He threw them away every weekend. A light went on: I asked if I could keep them. That is how the collecting began.»
TAPPOST
It is the name of the project — a pun on the Italian «tappo» (cap) and the phrase «tutto a posto» (all sorted). Founded in 2012 as a non-profit association, it works in stages: collecting the caps; distributing them to organisations that work with people with disabilities, who sort them and sometimes re-shape them with dedicated moulds; and finally composing the work.
«What gratifies me most is the idea of providing work for my special collaborators.»
In the studio
The works are made in Naples, in the Soccavo district. Up close they are a mosaic of brands and printing shades; from afar, a portrait. They change with the light.
Poor pop art, but essential.
Luigi Masecchia
Recognition
The critic Vittorio Sgarbi has called Masecchia’s work «genius». Works from the TAPPOST project have been shown in Naples, Florence, Palermo, Salerno and Barcelona, and live in homes and venues in Paris, London, Barcelona and Moscow. The project also partners with RICREA, the Italian national consortium for recycling steel packaging.
Let’s work together
Commissioned portraits, works for venues, brand collaborations and recycling projects.