«Silenzioso, mi ritiro a dipingere un quadro»
Renata Fabbri Gallery is glad to open the new year’s program with an exhibition dedicated to the formal and conceptual confines of what we might call “painting” today. In the context of the show this definition is being explored through a selection of new and existing works re-contextualized specifically for this show, a project gathering a group of Italian artists under 45.
«Silenzioso, mi ritiro a dipingere un quadro» is the title of an early painting by Mimmo Paladino who, in 1977, highlights a renewed (and general) attention towards the intimate and conceptual dimension of painting as a practice, after decades of experimentation with other languages and materials that violently entered the territories of visual arts. Today, after forty years since the birth of that painting, where does this practice stand in relation to its intimate/private dimension among contemporary artistic experiences in Italy? Is painting still an intimate “body to body” between the artist and one or more specific media and interlocutors? And what are the routes of research characterizing this practice? And the borders of the painting, which tangencies and declinations have they expressed?
The exhibition is not conceived as the investigation of contemporary painting in itself. Such complex and layered landscape can’t be summarized through a simple group show. Instead, the project intends to focus on individuality, gathering a group of practitioners addressing specific questions. Issues that do not necessarily share a formal and intellectual approach but that look into diverse research strands related to ideas of ecology, identity, the digital image, archetypes and simulacra, political discourse, but also form a matter, and so to the medium, moving through and beyond the concept of painting.
Therefore this project does not articulate as an exploration, instead as a test that transforms the statement «Silenzioso, mi ritiro a dipingere un quadro» (Quiet, I withdraw to paint) in a loosely formulated question, observing some ways in which this process – both private and public – might belong to painting and its disintegration today. The show wants to investigate the dimension of “making”, through this medium as well as through installations and sculptures.
Renata Fabbri Gallery is glad to open the new year’s program with an exhibition dedicated to the formal and conceptual confines of what we might call “painting” today. In the context of the show this definition is being explored through a selection of new and existing works re-contextualized specifically for this show, a project gathering a group of Italian artists under 45.
«Silenzioso, mi ritiro a dipingere un quadro» is the title of an early painting by Mimmo Paladino who, in 1977, highlights a renewed (and general) attention towards the intimate and conceptual dimension of painting as a practice, after decades of experimentation with other languages and materials that violently entered the territories of visual arts. Today, after forty years since the birth of that painting, where does this practice stand in relation to its intimate/private dimension among contemporary artistic experiences in Italy? Is painting still an intimate “body to body” between the artist and one or more specific media and interlocutors? And what are the routes of research characterizing this practice? And the borders of the painting, which tangencies and declinations have they expressed?
The exhibition is not conceived as the investigation of contemporary painting in itself. Such complex and layered landscape can’t be summarized through a simple group show. Instead, the project intends to focus on individuality, gathering a group of practitioners addressing specific questions. Issues that do not necessarily share a formal and intellectual approach but that look into diverse research strands related to ideas of ecology, identity, the digital image, archetypes and simulacra, political discourse, but also form a matter, and so to the medium, moving through and beyond the concept of painting.
Therefore this project does not articulate as an exploration, instead as a test that transforms the statement «Silenzioso, mi ritiro a dipingere un quadro» (Quiet, I withdraw to paint) in a loosely formulated question, observing some ways in which this process – both private and public – might belong to painting and its disintegration today. The show wants to investigate the dimension of “making”, through this medium as well as through installations and sculptures.
Alessandro Piangiamore, Ieri Ikebana, 2015/2018Cement, iron, flowers, 64x50 cm
Alessandro Roma, Untitled, 2018Ceramic painted, 68x35 cm (d)
Alessandro Roma, The edges of the landscape, 2015/2017Oil and spray on canvas, 122x150 cm
Alessandro Scarabello, The Gentleman #01, 2015Oil on canvas, 181x137 cm
Luigi Massari, TERZA SOGLIA, 2018Acrylic and spray on canvas, 120x150 cm
Luigi Massari, VETTORE 2, 2019Acrylic and spray on wood, 60x50 cm
Alessio de Girolamo, Cube138, 2018Dissipative painting on paper, 75x108 cm
Francesco Fossati, Self portrait as a green loser (sanguinella), 2018Ecoprint on linen and palm tree leaves, 340x155 cm
Thomas Berra, Con titolo, 2019Acrylic and ink on plastered canvas, 40x30 cm
Alessandro Scarabello, The Birdwatcher, 2015Oil on canvas, 187x147 cm
Alessio de Girolamo, A, 2019 – Z, 2019Carrara marble, 600x410x1 cm each
Thomas Berra, Selfcare, 2019Ink and enamel on board, 230x120 cm
Francesco Fossati (Carate Brianza, 1985) is a visual artist and wild plants forager. He lives and works in Lissone (IT). In 2008 he got a BFA in Painting at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan and in 2010 he got a MFA in Painting at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
From 2015 he started making public artworks for parks and cities like: Parco Nord Milan, Parco delle Groane, Monaco, Trento, Carrara e Edolo. He took part in many solo and group exhibitions like: Iaga Gallery, Cluj-Napoca, RO (2023); Mill of Pappas, Larissa, GR (2022); Spazio Hangar, Rome (2021); Renata Fabbri, Milan (2019); Magazzini, Palermo (2019); Museo Santa Giulia, Brescia (2017), MAC Museum of Contemporary Art, Lissone (2013), Casa Testori, Novate Milanese (2016), Das KloHäuschen, Munich (2016). Some of his works have been exhibited in some museums and institutions among: Casa-museo Boschi Di Stefano, Milan; Careof, Milan; Kaiserliche Hofburg, Innsbruck; Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza; GAMeC, Bergamo.
Francesco Fossati (Carate Brianza, 1985) is a visual artist and wild plants forager. He lives and works in Lissone (IT). In 2008 he got a BFA in Painting at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan and in 2010 he got a MFA in Painting at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
From 2015 he started making public artworks for parks and cities like: Parco Nord Milan, Parco delle Groane, Monaco, Trento, Carrara e Edolo. He took part in many solo and group exhibitions like: Iaga Gallery, Cluj-Napoca, RO (2023); Mill of Pappas, Larissa, GR (2022); Spazio Hangar, Rome (2021); Renata Fabbri, Milan (2019); Magazzini, Palermo (2019); Museo Santa Giulia, Brescia (2017), MAC Museum of Contemporary Art, Lissone (2013), Casa Testori, Novate Milanese (2016), Das KloHäuschen, Munich (2016). Some of his works have been exhibited in some museums and institutions among: Casa-museo Boschi Di Stefano, Milan; Careof, Milan; Kaiserliche Hofburg, Innsbruck; Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza; GAMeC, Bergamo.
Alessio de Girolamo (Sanremo, 1980) lives and works in Athens. He highlights illusory aspects of language and its structures with multidisciplinary works and installation mixes, creating immersive and live experiences.
In 2015 he discovered similarities between atomic models and music by elaborating the “Nn” theory which makes Bohr’s atomic model and the curious Imperial 290 piano superimposable for both structural and historical reasons. From this research he creates a compositional system that relates the elements of the periodic table to the sounds of the piano. In 2017 he began working on the algorithms that regulate the formal grammar of the development of plant cells composing sound metaphors of their growth, formally highlighting similar behaviours between programming environments and natural environments. From 2018 the project becomes “L-System” when he establishes a collaboration made up of audiovisual installation dialogues with artist Loris Cecchini on various occasions. Central to these sound installations is the writing of generative programs in Supercollider, together with samplers with which the artist creates “sound walks” and acousmatic installations to put art and science, nature and architecture in dialogue.
He took part in many projects and exhibitions like: SCIC flagship store, Milan (2021); Manifattura Tabacchi, Florence, Italy (2020); Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture 2019 Shenzhen, China; Spazju Kreattiv, La Valletta, Malta; Renata Fabbri, Milano, Italy (2019); Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Siena (2018); Assab One, Milan (2014); Ex Stasi Museum, Hoeshonenhausen, Berlin, GE (2012); Charité Medical School Campus, Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, GE (2010); D.A.M.S., Imperia (2006).
Alessio de Girolamo (Sanremo, 1980) lives and works in Athens. He highlights illusory aspects of language and its structures with multidisciplinary works and installation mixes, creating immersive and live experiences.
In 2015 he discovered similarities between atomic models and music by elaborating the “Nn” theory which makes Bohr’s atomic model and the curious Imperial 290 piano superimposable for both structural and historical reasons. From this research he creates a compositional system that relates the elements of the periodic table to the sounds of the piano. In 2017 he began working on the algorithms that regulate the formal grammar of the development of plant cells composing sound metaphors of their growth, formally highlighting similar behaviours between programming environments and natural environments. From 2018 the project becomes “L-System” when he establishes a collaboration made up of audiovisual installation dialogues with artist Loris Cecchini on various occasions. Central to these sound installations is the writing of generative programs in Supercollider, together with samplers with which the artist creates “sound walks” and acousmatic installations to put art and science, nature and architecture in dialogue.
He took part in many projects and exhibitions like: SCIC flagship store, Milan (2021); Manifattura Tabacchi, Florence, Italy (2020); Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture 2019 Shenzhen, China; Spazju Kreattiv, La Valletta, Malta; Renata Fabbri, Milano, Italy (2019); Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Siena (2018); Assab One, Milan (2014); Ex Stasi Museum, Hoeshonenhausen, Berlin, GE (2012); Charité Medical School Campus, Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, GE (2010); D.A.M.S., Imperia (2006).
Alessandro Piangiamore (Enna, 1976), lives and works in Rome. Among recent exhibitions: solo show at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, New York, curated by Vittorio Calabrese and organized by Magazzino Italian Art (2018); a solo exhibition at Galleria Magazzino, Rome (2016) and the project Primavera Piangiamore at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014). Selected group shows: Da io a noi, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome (2017); The Lasting – L’intervallo e la durata, Galleria Nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome (2017); Premio Cairo, Milan (2016); Meteorite in giardino, Fondazione Merz, Turin (2014)
Alessandro Piangiamore (Enna, 1976), lives and works in Rome. Among recent exhibitions: solo show at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, New York, curated by Vittorio Calabrese and organized by Magazzino Italian Art (2018); a solo exhibition at Galleria Magazzino, Rome (2016) and the project Primavera Piangiamore at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014). Selected group shows: Da io a noi, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome (2017); The Lasting – L’intervallo e la durata, Galleria Nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome (2017); Premio Cairo, Milan (2016); Meteorite in giardino, Fondazione Merz, Turin (2014)
Alessandro Roma (Milan, 1977) graduated at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera of Milan in 2001. The artist’s research is characterized by a predominant pictorial approach, resulting from his academic education and early years activity. More recently, Roma investigated and adopted different techniques, exploring casting, printing on fabric, ceramics and collage. This lead to a whole new repertoire of inner landscapes, arising from both real experiences and literary sources, that transforms his imagination into something tangible and accessible to the viewer.
His works have been exposed in many solo and group exhibitions among: Quartz studio, Turin; Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix gallery, London, GB (2022); Triennale Museum, Milan (2021); Convent San Francesco in Bagnacavallo, IT (2020); Archaeological Museum Salinas, Palermo, IT; Renata Fabbri, Milan; Foundation Thalie Bruxelles, BE (2019); Mic Ceramic museum, Faenza, IT; Z2O/SaraZanin Gallery, Rome; Elsley House, London (2018); Biennale del disegno, Rimini (2016, 2015); Lorcan OʼNeill Gallery, Rome (2012); Prague Biennal (2009).
Alessandro Roma (Milan, 1977) graduated at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera of Milan in 2001. The artist’s research is characterized by a predominant pictorial approach, resulting from his academic education and early years activity. More recently, Roma investigated and adopted different techniques, exploring casting, printing on fabric, ceramics and collage. This lead to a whole new repertoire of inner landscapes, arising from both real experiences and literary sources, that transforms his imagination into something tangible and accessible to the viewer.
His works have been exposed in many solo and group exhibitions among: Quartz studio, Turin; Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix gallery, London, GB (2022); Triennale Museum, Milan (2021); Convent San Francesco in Bagnacavallo, IT (2020); Archaeological Museum Salinas, Palermo, IT; Renata Fabbri, Milan; Foundation Thalie Bruxelles, BE (2019); Mic Ceramic museum, Faenza, IT; Z2O/SaraZanin Gallery, Rome; Elsley House, London (2018); Biennale del disegno, Rimini (2016, 2015); Lorcan OʼNeill Gallery, Rome (2012); Prague Biennal (2009).
Alessandro Scarabello was born in Rome in 1979. He works between Rome, Florence and Brussels. In addition to his painting practice, he is co-founder and co-director of MODO, a cultural association for contemporary art in Brussels, and lecturer at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Rome. He got a MFA at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK), Ghent, Belgium in 2015. In 2004 he got a BFA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy.
He exposed his work in many museums and institutions in Italy and abroad among: MEF – Museo Ettore Fico, Turin (2022); Marignana Gallery, Venice (2021); Francesca Antonini gallery, Rome (2019); Renata Fabbri, Milan (2019); Italian Cultural Center, Brussels, Belgium (2018); The Gallery Apart, Rome (2016); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2015); Italy25th Biennial for Mediterranean Countries, Alexandria Art Museum, Alexandria, Egypt (2009).
Alessandro Scarabello was born in Rome in 1979. He works between Rome, Florence and Brussels. In addition to his painting practice, he is co-founder and co-director of MODO, a cultural association for contemporary art in Brussels, and lecturer at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Rome. He got a MFA at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK), Ghent, Belgium in 2015. In 2004 he got a BFA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy.
He exposed his work in many museums and institutions in Italy and abroad among: MEF – Museo Ettore Fico, Turin (2022); Marignana Gallery, Venice (2021); Francesca Antonini gallery, Rome (2019); Renata Fabbri, Milan (2019); Italian Cultural Center, Brussels, Belgium (2018); The Gallery Apart, Rome (2016); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2015); Italy25th Biennial for Mediterranean Countries, Alexandria Art Museum, Alexandria, Egypt (2009).
Luigi Massari (Bari, 1978) lives and works in Milan. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Lecce. In 2012, together with curator Andrea Lacarpia, he founded Dimora Artica in Milan, a space dedicated to the search of connections between traditional culture and new tendencies of contemporary art.
H e took part in many exhibitions in galleries and public places in Italy and abroad, among them: Analoghìa, at the Carlo V Castle in Lecce (2016); Polarities, an exhibition at AV17 Gallery sponsored by the Italian Institute of Culture in Vilnius, Lithuania; CARS in Omegna and Painters Club, in VIR Viafarini-in-residence, Milan (2017).
Luigi Massari (Bari, 1978) lives and works in Milan. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Lecce. In 2012, together with curator Andrea Lacarpia, he founded Dimora Artica in Milan, a space dedicated to the search of connections between traditional culture and new tendencies of contemporary art.
H e took part in many exhibitions in galleries and public places in Italy and abroad, among them: Analoghìa, at the Carlo V Castle in Lecce (2016); Polarities, an exhibition at AV17 Gallery sponsored by the Italian Institute of Culture in Vilnius, Lithuania; CARS in Omegna and Painters Club, in VIR Viafarini-in-residence, Milan (2017).
- Gaia De Megni
- Serena Vestrucci
- Bea Bonafini
MAXXI L’AQUILA
December 3, 2023 – March 3, 2024
Curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi with Chiara Bertini and Fanny Borel
- Sophie Ko
Villa Pacchiani, Santa Croce sull’Arno (PI)
December 2-17, 2023
Opening December 2, 2023 from 5pm
Curated by Ilaria Mariotti
- Sophie Ko,
- Serena Vestrucci
Studio la Città, Verona
Opening November 25, 2023 from 11am
Curated by Stanislao Vialardi
- Matthieu Haberard
Musée Les Abattoirs, Toulouse
December 8, 2023 – April 28, 2024
With the support of Les Amis des Abattoirs
