Introduction
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.
In his work, where the various experiences of metaphysics and minimalism find a point of contact, Francesco Gennari 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.
Sta arrivando il temporale / The Storm is Coming includes 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.