dallepoca

Dallepoca is a term used in contemporary art discourse to describe a visual-aesthetic approach that treats time as a material, presenting scenes as layered, slab-like planes. The method emphasizes flat, tile-like surfaces and the sequential juxtaposition of distinct epochs within a single frame, creating a palimpsest of history in image form.

The term is a neologism that emerged in Italian online art communities and has since spread in international criticism. It is generally interpreted as a portmanteau linking dalle (slabs or tiles) with epoca (epoch), though exact origins are debated. It is often used to categorize works, especially those produced through generative or AI-assisted workflows, that foreground surface texture and temporal suggestion.

Key features include modular panel geometry, flat or planed shading, pronounced textural surfaces (stone, ceramic, plaster), and deliberate layering of temporal cues—past, present, and imagined futures—within a single image. Techniques may involve collage, 3D rendering, or AI-assisted generation to assemble multiple epochal motifs.

Dallepoca is discussed in relation to palimpsest aesthetics, epochal design, and deconstructed classicism. Proponents argue it offers a way to critique linear histories and the materiality of images; critics warn that the term can be vague or overextended, and that it risks mixing unrelated stylistic devices.