MARIO SCHIFANO
SETTANTA80NOVANTA
curated by Marcello Palminteri
May 25 - June 22
September 8 - October 12, 2022
The exhibition presents twenty works by Mario Schifano created between the 1970s and 1990s, drawn from private collections and previously shown in major exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Staying true to his experimental approach and his dedication to painting (the kind of painting that dominated and made a powerful return in the 1980s with the Transavanguardia, of which Schifano was a precursor), Schifano confronts the art world of the 1960s by countering conceptualism with the raw energy of color, and opposing the dullness of "Povera Art" with the red of struggle and protest, reflecting a search for life beyond norms and boundaries. His attraction to opposites comes together in a nomadic approach that transcends the traditional divide between figuration and abstraction, drawing from both to create a less rigid, truly modern vision. This is why his work still feels more relevant today than many other movements of the late 20th century—because of his compelling ability to depict and describe, in fresh ways, everything around us, capturing the anxieties, fears, and meanings of an entire century within the spaces of his work.
