Working in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Italian artist Simone Nicola Filippo paints air‑brushed scenes drawn from anime, video games, and fan art to study para‑social bonds and nostalgia. His canvases probe why fictional figures feel intimate yet carry built‑in power dynamics, especially around female avatars. Seen in his solo show “Tour Bonheur” and through the collective General Aesthetics, Simone’s work has become a touchpoint for post‑internet painting.
Simone Nicola Filippo, Silence (2025), ensemble view
I’ve been residing in Japan for more than a month now for an art residency, and I am very much influenced by the kyara, the cuteness of everything around me, but also the quiet city life of small-town Okazaki (Aichi). My new works are reflecting that in their form.
I was extremely shy and anxious. It’s something I only became truly aware of during my art studies. I used to play an obscene amount of video games, and for a time my hobby was collecting Pokémon cards (EX to D&P era). When I look back at the amount of time and money I threw away, it’s depressing.
Simone Nicola Filippo holding three Pokémon cards from the late 90's or early 2000's
I’m cursed with envy. I enjoy sharing successes with my peers; however, I also see some people’s achievements as an incentive to try harder (or die tryin’).
Probably my projector. I often work with found images, and reproducing them at a large scale using a grid system or freehand is a waste of time.
Work in progress shot of a medium-size work in Simone Nicola Filippo's studio, 2023.
Parasocial relationships and the theme of the “Beautiful Fighting Girl” have been my favourite wells to draw from for a number of years now.
I’ve grown to appreciate the elderly artists from my hometown. Despite not being very well known, they’ve been constant in their craft, and that’s important.
Exhibition view of "A Little Thin Duck", CoinCoin Artspace, Zurich (CH), 2024
I love Zurich. It’s pretty snob, but the indie art scene is definitely interesting. I’d move there if I had the financial means to do so.
Don’t get me wrong, I like living in Neuchâtel, but it’s barely a city.
In reality, I hope that by painting what interests me, the viewer can sense my passion and perhaps become attracted to, or weirded out by, my choice of subjects. Let’s analyse the example of my latest Silence Suzuka portrait: I painted her big, way bigger than she should be, both in height and in… corporature. I want the public to feel her presence, to feel a little funny inside.
Reception of Tour Bonheur, Quartier Général, La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), 2025
I used to be intimidated by conceptual art. Feeling belittled by pretentious artists and know-it-all curators is a feeling no one wants to experience, yet that’s what happens, since artists live in their own bubble (and so do I!). My professors changed that by gradually explaining the various connections between the art world, history, and social practices. It kind of makes sense now.
If people wanted to get it, they could. But it’s much easier to laugh at the banana taped to the wall, isn’t it?
The public is generally intimidated by a lack of knowledge, and it fosters a hostile environment between visual artists and their target audience.
My course director during my Master’s told me I should probably stop painting because she couldn’t see what I wanted to communicate in my work. I kept painting. But I also got better at talking. So… I won?
Simone Nicola Filippo, An Eternally Obvious Thesis (2023), detail
I try to peek at their shoes. Hiking shoes or artsy sneakers say a lot about your conversation partner.
Being commissioned for a public art project, especially a permanent one. I’m aware that art in public spaces often has a bad reputation—shallow or overly complex, alienating, and a driver of gentrification—but there are plenty of good examples that don’t boil down to yassified hostile architecture. I haven’t come up with a good enough idea yet; I trust the stars will eventually align.
Simone Nicola Filippo, Self-portrait with Rei Ayanami (ca. 2021), detail
That I was (and am) somewhat awkward, and that I need to try extra hard to mask it.
I got fairly late into the dating game, mostly because I was unable to relate to people. There were some fundamental issues at my core that I had to address. Meeting the right people is a godsend.
Practical thinking. In the art field it’s important to be a bricklayer, an entrepreneur, and a PR agent, all in one.
While in school, a collector in Switzerland told me he liked a painting of a train I had just finished and asked me to bring it to his house. He hung it upside down and gave me a good amount of money. Also, I rode the train back home; I think that specific locomotive was named after Harald Szeemann.
It’s tough to distinguish between nostalgia bait and a genuine appeal to one’s memories. In my art, I try to convert thousands of hours wasted on gaming and consuming content into something that’s worth it, something I can happily reminisce about.
Simone Nicola Filippo, Kentucky Derby (2022)
I listen to all sorts of roleplays, sometimes even the unhealthiest ones. I’m by no means a lonely person; nevertheless, curiosity gets the better of me. There’s an inescapable charm to suspending my disbelief for a brief time and letting a pair of hands drift me away. Crafting videos are also really good. It’s mostly artificial, but they scratch a hard-to-reach itch.
My friends César and Tudor have always been there since we graduated together. We work, apply to grants, and show together in a fluid manner. General Æsthetics was the title of our first show in an offspace called Smallville, and I’m happy that, two years later—this October—we’ll be showing again at the Art Center of Neuchâtel (CAN)!
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* (2025), ensemble view](https://storageuntitleddb.blob.core.windows.net/udb-interview-qa/83930f31-fb7d-4538-8479-0af3c087e8bc1200.jpg)



*, [Quartier Général](\institutions\354909a2-0ca0-458a-502b-08ddc541308e), La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), 2025](https://storageuntitleddb.blob.core.windows.net/udb-interview-qa/f3bf82bd-3bd2-476d-a2ca-5aafabeda57b1200.jpg)
* (2023), detail](https://storageuntitleddb.blob.core.windows.net/udb-interview-qa/04879c42-80e5-4f0f-af1f-111e6e1656e41200.jpg)

* (2022)](https://storageuntitleddb.blob.core.windows.net/udb-interview-qa/94df03d4-9c68-4be0-a374-c2d9fe9f9de01200.jpg)


























