Beatrice Vigoni’s research revolves around the representation of female identity and the possibility of transforming images into spaces of recognition, self-determination and participation.
Through the CryptoMaDonne project, launched in 2021 within Holy Club, the artist has created a population of figures that move across pixel art, painting, sculpture, urban art and digital culture. Her starting point is an image deeply rooted in collective visual memory, which Vigoni subjects to a process of simplification, fragmentation and recoding.
The face is reduced to a grid of pixels. Individual features disappear, preventing the figure from being associated with one specific identity. It does not represent a particular woman, nor does it propose a new universal model intended to replace previous ones. Instead, it becomes an open matrix, capable of embracing different personalities, experiences and expressions of femininity.
Pixelation is therefore more than an aesthetic choice. It is the device through which Vigoni disrupts the conventional codes of female representation. In a culture dominated by high-definition images, filters and increasingly standardised ideals of beauty, removing details also means freeing women from the expectation of being immediately readable, classifiable and judged.
The apparent incompleteness of the face opens a space in which identity can be imagined rather than assigned. The CryptoMaDonne can take on different colours, personalities and attitudes. They can appear strong, ironic, protective, vulnerable or assertive, without ever being reduced to a single definition.
The title of the project reflects this plurality. Within the Italian word Madonne, Vigoni highlights the word donne—women—while the prefix crypto evokes something hidden, encrypted or not immediately decipherable. Female identity is thus presented as a complex reality that cannot be reduced to a definitive image and remains open to interpretation.
The strength of the project also lies in its ability to move across different media and contexts. The CryptoMaDonne can exist as digital images, paintings, sculptures, murals, skateboards, Lego compositions, T-shirts and everyday objects. The transition between the digital and physical realms is not merely a strategy of circulation. It expands the work’s ability to engage with different audiences.
When these figures leave the gallery and occupy an urban wall, they also acquire a symbolic value. They make female presence visible within public space and affirm women’s right to participate in the construction of collective imagery.
Empowerment, in Vigoni’s work, does not coincide with the representation of an isolated or invulnerable heroine. It takes the form of a shared process based on plurality, visibility and the possibility of recognising oneself without conforming to a single model.
Each CryptoMaDonna retains her individuality while simultaneously belonging to a broader visual community. The repetition of the original matrix does not erase difference; it makes difference visible. Every chromatic, material or contextual variation produces a new identity.
This reflection is accompanied by a concrete dimension of social responsibility. Collaborations with organisations committed to supporting and protecting women connect the symbolic representation of female empowerment with initiatives capable of producing tangible effects beyond the art system.
Vigoni’s practice is also grounded in a critical understanding of digital tools. Technology cannot be separated from the cultural knowledge, responsibility and awareness of those who use it. In her broader reflection on artificial intelligence and creative practice, Beatrice Vigoni argues:
“The role of artists is crucial to understanding the weaknesses of using this tool. The artists involved must be critical and versatile: they must be knowledgeable about the tradition and potential of innovative techniques.”
Her words emphasise the importance of the artist as an active and informed subject rather than a passive user of technology. Innovation acquires value only when it is accompanied by knowledge of artistic tradition, critical awareness and the ability to recognise the limitations as well as the possibilities of new tools.
Beatrice Vigoni’s work therefore occupies the intersection of digital culture, urban languages and the exploration of female identity. The pixel fragments the image while allowing it to be reconstructed; it reduces the definition of the face while expanding the possibilities of identification.
The CryptoMaDonne do not tell women what they should be. On the contrary, they affirm their right to remain open, plural and continuously evolving. The female image is no longer a surface onto which expectations and predetermined models are projected. It becomes a territory that women can reclaim, rewrite and inhabit.
Bio
Beatrice Vigoni is an Italian artist working across pixel art, painting, sculpture, digital culture and urban interventions. Her research explores the representation of female identity and the possibility of transforming images rooted in collective memory into contemporary instruments of empowerment, participation and recognition.
Through the CryptoMaDonne project, she has developed a visual language based on pixelation and on the variation of an open and plural female matrix, capable of moving between digital environments, exhibition spaces and urban contexts.