Storytelling Art responds to this universal need, transforming each canvas into a narrative fragment that engages the viewer far beyond simple contemplation.
Human civilizations have always been built around stories. Myths, epics, tales and novels shape our collective memory.
In an age saturated with instant images, the need for storytelling is stronger than ever.
contemporary art on the move
An alternative to conceptual art
For several decades, contemporary art has often turned to concept, performance or pure abstraction. These approaches, while important, sometimes leave the viewer at a distance, helpless in the face of hermetic works. Storytelling art offers an alternative. It does not exclude plastic innovation, but places it at the service of narrative. Styles borrowed from cubism, pop art or surrealism are not ends in themselves: they become dramaturgical tools.
cubist fragmentation conveys mental effervescence, while pop art energy underlines the intensity of the exchanges. The viewer intuitively understands the dramatic tension of the scene.
The spectator, actor in the work
"I want the viewer to become the reader of my paintings. I want them to invent, from what they see, a sequence of their own. - Marc Ferrero
One of the future aspects of Storytelling Art is its ability to involve the viewer. Unlike a conceptual work closed in on itself, a Ferrero painting is an open-ended plot.
This participatory dimension echoes current trends in immersive and interactive art. It prepares a public already accustomed to serial narratives (cinema, series, video games) to rediscover this logic in painting.
In step with immersive exhibitions
"Immersion is not only technological, it is first and foremost narrative. We only enter a work of art if a story invites us to cross the threshold." - Marc Ferrero
The worldwide success of immersive exhibitions(Van Gogh Alive, TeamLab, Atelier des Lumières...) shows that the public aspires to total experiences, where art is experienced rather than viewed.
Storytelling art fits naturally into this dynamic. Each Ferrero canvas is already conceived as a chapter in a narrative world. It therefore makes sense to extend these narratives into immersive devices.
Each canvas is a visual chapter that calls up other chapters, and places the viewer in a continuum.
A cross-disciplinary, evolving movement
Storytelling Art goes beyond the canvas. It extends into :
- painted graphic novels(L'Empire de l'Accélération),
- cinema and audiovisual (option contract with the producer of Sin City),
- luxury and design (collaborations with Hublot and Ferrari),
- immersive exhibitions currently under development.
This transversality makes it an evolving movement, capable of dialoguing with both traditional painting and new technologies.
👉 Example: in 2019, Hublot released the Big Bang One Click Lipstick watch inspired by the world of Ferrero. More than a luxury object, it symbolizes how Storytelling Art can migrate to other media while retaining its narrative power.
A response to the acceleration society
"Telling the story of acceleration means giving people the tools to understand it and, perhaps, slow it down." - Marc Ferrero
Our era is marked by what sociologists call "social acceleration": information flows, frenetic rhythms, pressure to perform.
Storytelling art tackles this issue head-on. In The Empire of Acceleration, Ferrero presents two worlds:
- the Upper Towns, where speed and competition reign supreme,
- the Disqualified World, where the excluded invent creative forms of resistance.
This symbolic narrative resonates directly with our contemporary societies, giving the movement a philosophical and critical dimension that goes beyond mere aesthetics.