GINEVRA, 14 GIUGNO – Massimo Giannoni, an Italian painter working and living in Florence, comes to Geneva after having obtained remarkable accomplishments for his numerous European exhibitions that are highly praised by critics and the public. After “Arte Italiana” at Palazzo Reale of Milan (2007) and the Venice Biennale (2011) curated by Vittorio Sgarbi, “Four Triptychs” at Palazzo delle Esposizioni of Rome (2012) “Linee di confine” at the Museum Bilotti of Rome (2015), and “Panopticon” in Singapore, Giannoni’s work will be exhibited for the first time at the Palais des Nations (Mezzanine, E building Door 40) under the title “Beyond the Past”.
Libraries and bookstores have always been a main source of inspiration for Giannoni. With the use of dense impasto technique he offers a unique moment to the viewer. The naturalistic depiction and the thick body of colors are in perfect balance and convey emotions and exaltation. His characteristic hand suggests a melancholic and timeless atmosphere that leads us into a world full of mystery and imagination. The exhibition in Geneva, co-organized by the Italian Permanent Mission to the International Organizations and the United Nations Cultural Activities, in collaboration with Artion Galleries, includes fifteen recent paintings especially conceived for the occasion.
The large room with bookshelves and abandoned armchairs appeal to our solitude and recall the hope of a future beyond our existence. We abandon the places we loves, the essential parts of our experiences and the spaces and objects full of memories and affection. The painting must then evoke our deepest emotion reminding us of our fragilities and lonelinesses. In terms of iconography and style, Giannoni tries to create these conflicts between our feelings and desires in his paintings but also between our limits and ambitions, order and chaos, creation and dissolution.
Giannoni devotes much attention to the support used. “My paintings always start from an untreated linen canvas, so that the color of natural flax acts like a half-shade. His palette consists of few colors. The dominant one is most often monochrome. However, it is interrupted in several points by areas with more vivid colors to make the image vibrates. The books are reduced to patches of color.
Massimo Giannoni was born in 1954 Empoli, Tuscany (Italy). After the first two solo shows held at Vivita Gallery of Florence (1985, 1987), he moved for a few years to Australia and the United States, where he continued to exhibit in Sydney and Chicago. Back in Italy, he began to address subject matters that are today his favorite themes, the series of libraries and home to prestigious places as ancient libraries, but also the ancient palaces of the Florentine nobility like the great Serristori Palace. The Venice Biennale in 2011 marked a turning point in his career. His work is now known internationally and is part of important private collections. (@OnuItalia)
