Francesco Gennari – Sta arrivando il temporale / The Storm is Coming
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From October 26, 2019 to January 6, 2020, the GAMeC – Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo presents Sta arrivando il temporale / The Storm is Coming, a solo exhibition by Francesco Gennari curated by Lorenzo Giusti.
The exhibition confirms the ongoing commitment of the Bergamo museum to the study and promotion of the work of those Italian artists most oriented towards an international dimension.
Francesco Gennari (Pesaro, 1973) is one of the most influential artists of his generation. In his work, where the various experiences of metaphysics and minimalism find a point of contact, he gives shape to perceptions and states of mind through the creation of sculptures and drawings, largely conceived as mental landscapes, and photographs of himself. Along this path, one which we might define as being of “fine-tuned investigation,” a painstaking and poetic process, self-representation constitutes a key feature.
The artist defines as “self-portraits” all those works which, in various ways, express his presence, both in a physical sense (as a body) and in an emotional sense (as a sensation or a perceived atmosphere). Some are genuine self-portraits in which the figure of the artist is present, portrayed in various ways, while others are purely abstract works that stand out by virtue of the presence of an autobiographical component: the existence of a memory, the evocation of a particular moment or the celebration of an everyday gesture.
In Gennari’s approach, the choice of materials is one of great importance: from the traditional ones used for sculpture to those of common use—be they organic or industrial—they become an expression in their own right of a precise psychological state, variable in relation to different times of day, and to more or less recurrent events or actions carried out in the everyday dimension.
The show in Bergamo sets out to narrate this fluid and eclectic dimension of the artist’s outlook, giving rise to a changing landscape, both in its forms and materials, representative of the complexity of the artist’s research in the field of self-representation.
On show, a number of photographic self-portraits from the series “on mint” as well as new sculptural works, produced using various materials—glass, marble, bronze—and never previously exhibited before. Along with the traditional references of his work, such as minimalism and metaphysics, these elements show a previously unseen fascination with the architectural forms of the baroque period, evoked through the presence of sinuous lines and draperies.
The exhibition will be accompanied with a bilingual catalog published by Skira, featuring essays dedicated to the theme of self-representation and drawing.
The exhibition is part of a series of initiatives staged with the support of the Club GAMeC, the association of friends of the museum which, since 2005, has supported the activities of the Gallery, aimed at promoting contemporary artistic research in all its forms.
BIOGRAPHY
Francesco Gennari (Pesaro, 1973) lives and works between Milan and Pesaro. His solo exhibitions have been held in major institutions such as: Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, 2016; FRAC Corse, Corte, 2015; GAM Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Turin, 2015; Museo Marino Marini, Florence, 2014; Museum Dhondt – Dhaenens, Deurle, 2009; Musée d’art moderne de Saint Etienne Metropole, Saint Etienne, 2008. His works have also been exhibited in major group shows in international institutions including: Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, 2019; Frac Île-de-France / Le Plateau, Paris, 2017; Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, 2016; the Triennale of Milan, 2015-2016; MAN_Museo d’Arte Provincia di Nuoro, Nuoro, 2013, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 2012; IVAM, Valencia, 2011; Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, 2010; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, 2009; Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 2008; Manifesta 7, Trentino Alto Adige, 2008.
