luciano ventrone il velo di maya
Transcript
luciano ventrone il velo di maya
LUCIANO VENTRONE IL VELO DI MAYA LUCIANO VENTRONE IL VELO DI MAYA ALBEMARLE The Never-ending Evolution of Art A Contemporary Master ‘I believe that the paintings exhibited today are only a phase, an initial phase, in Ventrone’s artistic journey.’ This is what Federico Zeri wrote in 1986. Twenty-four years on, looking at Ventrone’s new collection of works, one cannot but agree with the words of the distinguished critic and art historian that first ‘discovered’ the talent of the Roman artist. The first association that these paintings provoke is with the thought of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. An evolution of the Platonic Myth of the Cave, permeated by metaphysical and epistemological concepts derived from Hindu philosophy and religion, his Veil of Maya correctly describes the philosophical potential that lies in Ventrone’s works. Maya – goddess of illusion – embodies reality, as it is perceived through one’s senses, which clouds with her veil the eyes of humankind preventing authentic knowledge. In Schopenhauer’s aesthetics, art is meant to ‘express’ and ‘represent’ the Platonic Ideas. Through art one can temporarily contemplate the essence of things and this is precisely the process that takes place in front of a still life, nude or a seascape of Luciano Ventrone. As the art-critic and author Edward Lucie-Smith wrote: ‘What we see in a Ventrone painting is not ‘real’ because it is not what we would see were we to look with the naked eye – we see more. Ventrone shows us things more fully and more clearly than they appear to us in reality; everything is in focus, everything can be scrutinised.’ The extraordinary mastery of the technical means makes of Ventrone a leader of a new figurative tradition. In his essay, published in 1989, Federico Zeri observed that ‘this is the second experience in European history of a return to figurative painting following a period of abstract, intellectual, anti-naturalist, arid cerebral formulae,’ referring to the naturalistic shift that characterised European art towards the end of the 16th century, with both the birth of still life and the development of a new aesthetic in art and architecture that stemmed from the Counter-Reformation, as exemplified by the writings of Gabriele Paleotti (1522-1597) or Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584). As a matter of fact every key moment in art history is marked by a declared return to naturalistic figuration. It happened with the artistic revolution of the 13th/14th century (i.e. the surviving frescoes and mosaics of Pietro Cavallini both in Rome and Naples, and the most famous fresco cycles by Giotto), it took place in the late 16th century and again in the mid-19th century with Gustave Courbet’s Realism. It is happening now with Luciano Ventrone. He is not the only representative of the genre commonly known as Hyperrealism, but he is by far the most accomplished author. His creations can be compared, for intellectual and technical significance, to the work of Masaccio, author of the ‘Trinitá’ in Santa Maria Novella, Florence (c. 1427). Ventrone, as the Florentine master before him, has conceived a new way to observe and think nature and, above all, has developed innovative technical and stylistic means to mark yet another fundamental step in the never-ending evolution of art. Alessandro Lorenzetti Art Market Correspondent for Il Sole 24 Ore Art Market Analyst at Art Tactic Ltd. 1 Effimero oil on linen 160 x 140 cm (63 x 55 in) 2 Linguaggio Segreto oil on linen 80 x 80 cm (31 x 31 in) 3 Breve Palpito oil on linen 70 x 70 cm (28 x 28 in) 4 Il Vento all’Improvviso 80 x 100 cm (31 x 39 in) 5 Nuovo Segreto oil on linen 35 x 90 cm (14 x 35 in) 6 Colpo di Fulmine oil on linen 50 x 50 cm (20 x 20 in) 7 Tendere a... oil on linen 50 x 50 cm (20 x 20 in) 8 Eclisse Blu oil on linen 90 x 60 cm (35 x 24 in) 9 Elena oil on linen 90 x 60 cm (35 x 24 in) 10 Euforia oil on linen 60 x 70 cm (24 x 28 in) 11 Storia Barocca oil on linen 60 x 70 cm (24 x 28 in) 12 Sussurri oil on linen 60 x 90 cm (24 x 35 in) 13 Falò oil on linen 60 x 90 cm (24 x 35 in) 14 Arabesco oil on linen 50 x 60 cm (20 x 24 in) 15 Lucia oil on linen 55 x 150 cm (22 x 59 in) 16 Momento Magico oil on linen 60 x 70 cm (24 x 28 in) 17 Canto della Creazione oil on linen 60 x 70 cm (24 x 28 in) 18 Capricci oil on linen 60 x 60 cm (24 x 24 in) 19 Il Trio oil on linen 60 x 60 cm (24 x 24 in) 20 Pausa oil on linen 60 x 90 cm (24 x 35 in) 21 Concerto Notturno oil on linen 50 x 70 cm (20 x 28 in) Luciano Ventrone was born in Rome in 1942. He is regarded by the Italian art establishment, museums, curators and critics as one of the leading exponents of his genre. He lives and works in Rome and Collelongo (L’Aquila), Italy. Selected Solo Exhibitions 2010 2009 2008 2006 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1992 1993 1991 1990 Palazzo del Broletto, Como Luciano Ventrone, Marble Palace – Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg L’Inverosimile Verosimiglianza, curated by Beatrice Buscaroli, Fondazione Bandera, Busto Arsizio Studio Forni, Milano Simposio, Albemarle Gallery, London Luciano Ventrone e l’eterno presente, Galleria Forni, Bologna Luciano Ventrone. Le verità dipinte, Palazzo Luigi Einaudi, Chivasso – Turin Bernarducci & Meisel Gallery, New York Luciano Ventrone, Albemarle Gallery, London Luciano Ventrone and the Eternal Present, curated by E. Lucie-Smith, Albemarle Gallery, London Luciano Ventrone, Correggio – Reggio Emilia Studio Forni, Milan Xenia. Ossia Il gioco degli occhi, Studio Forni, Milan Studio Forni, Milan Portraits of Nicola Mancino and Marcello Pera, Presidents of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome Two commissioned paintings for the bouvette of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome Galleria Il Tempietto, Brindisi Studio Forni, Milan Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona Galleria Forni, Bologna International Art Fair, Shanghai Museo Civico, Chiusa - Bolzano Galleria Marieschi, Monza Galleria Forni, Bologna E.S. Lawrence Gallery, Aspen Galleria L’Incontro, Ancona Galleria Bergamini, Milan E.S. Lawrence Gallery, Aspen Galleria dello Scudo, Verona Galleria Il Tempietto, Brindisi Galleria Forni, Bologna Galleria Forni Tendenze, Bologna Galleria Forni, Tokyo Galleria Apollodoro, Rome 1989 1986 1985 1982 1981 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1972 1971 1970 1969 1966 1964 1963 Galleria Wildenstein, London Galleria Il Gabbiano, Rome Galleria Consigli Arte, Parma Galleria Davico, Turin Hall Galleries Inc., Dallas Elac, Lyon Palazzo Cenci, Rome Galleria “Bottega dell’arte San Marco”, Porto Santo Stefano Centro Cultural Bella Vista Porlamar, Isla de Margarita (Venezuela) M. J. C. Maison pour tous, Chambery Galleria L’oeil écouter, Lyon Galleria Kohm, Saint-Etienne Galleria Arti Visive, Rome Palazzo Kursaal, Pallanza – Verbania M.J.C.Maison pour Tous, Annemasse M.J.C. Maison pour Tous, Rumilly Maison des Arts et Loisirs, Thonon-Les-Bains Galleria La Parete, Naples Affresco, Aula della Corte d’Assise del Palazzo di Giustizia, Cassino Galleria Isola Verde, Casalpalocco – Rome Galleria L’Aventiniana, Rome Galleria 818, Pescara Galleria Interni, L’Aquila Galleria Arti Visive, Rome Sala comunale di Esposizione, Aosta Galleria Il Buchetto, Rome Facoltà di Architettura, Rome Galleria Il Ferro di Cavallo, Rome Galleria Il Fanale, Rome 2007 2006 2005 Selected Group Exhibitions 2010 2009 2008 Art Chicago, Chicago Contemporary Realism, Albemarle Gallery London Arte Fiera, Bologna Donne di Roma, Auditorium Musica per Roma, Rome Figure, Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York Contemplazioni, Castello Sismondo, Rimini Art London, London Natura morta, Il Chiostro, Saronno Scope, New York Arte Fiera, Bologna Face to Face, Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York Colori di Roma, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome Oltre la realtà, Galleria Chiari, Rome Figurae, Villa Genoese Zerbi di Reggio Calabria 2004 2003 Oltre la realtà, Galleria 44, Turin Spazio Forni, Ragusa Art London, Albemarle Gallery, London Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan Visioni e illusioni, Castello Cinquecentesco, L’Aquila Summer Show, Albemarle Gallery, London LVII Premio Michetti, Francavilla al Mare – Chieti Arte Italiana 1968-2007. Pittura, curated by V. Sgarbi, Palazzo Reale, Milan Nuovi realismi, PAC, Milan Scope, New York L’alibi dell’oggetto. Morandi e gli sviluppi della natura morta in Italia, curated by M. Pasquali, Fondazione Ragghianti, Lucca Arte Fiera, Abu Dhabi Art London, Albemarle Gallery, London Winter Show, Albemarle Gallery, London Arte Fiera, Bologna Scope, New York L’Italia della Repubblica, Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano, Rome Antologia della figurazione contemporanea. Italia: le ultime generazioni 1, curated by G. Algranti, Galleria Figurae, Milan Sui Generi. Figure in posa, Centro di Promozione Culturale “Le Muse”, Andria Figurae, Galleria Factory, Modena Flowers, Palazzo Ducale, Pavullo nel Frignano Primer concurso de pintura figurativa, Barcelona 10th Anniversary Show, Albemarle Gallery, London Terra, Galleria Marieschi, Milan Il ritratto interiore. Da Lotto a Pirandello, curated by V. Sgarbi, Museo archeologico, Aosta L’inquietudine del volto. Da Lotto a Freud, da Tiziano a De Chirico, curated by V. Sgarbi, Lodi Sui Generi. Paesaggi in posa, Centro di Promozione Culturale “Le Muse”, Andria Arte Fiera, Bologna Sui Generi. Nature in posa, Centro di Promozione Culturale “Le Muse”, Andria MiArt, Milan Nudo, Galleria Forni, Bologna St’Art, Strasbourg ArtParis, Paris Fortino Napoleonico, Ancona La ricerca dell’Identità. Da Tiziano a de Chirico, curated by V. Sgarbi, Polo Culturale Sant’Agostino, Ascoli Piceno Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan St’Art, Strasbourg ArtParis, Paris Art Miami, Miami 2002 2001 1999 1997 1996 1995 1993 1992 1991 1990 1987 “Italian Still Life Painting from the Silvano Lodi Collection”, Yamagata Museum of Art, Yamagata Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan Mimesis et inventio. La natura morta nella pittura europea contemporanea, curated by Gerd Lindner, Panorama Museum, Bad Frankenhausen 20x20, Galleria Ibiscus, Ragusa Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan Travelling exhibition: “Italian Still Life Painting from the Silvano Lodi Collection”, Seiji Togo Memorial Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art, Shinjuku; Niigata City Art Museum, Niigata; Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido; Toyama Shimin Plaza Art Gallery, Toyama; Ashikaga Museum of Art, Ashikaga Art Miami, Miami Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan XIII Quadriennale, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome Immagine d’impegno-Impegno d’immagine, Galleria Civica “Ex-mattatoio”, Rome Da Boccioni a Bacon alla contemporaneità, Galleria Forni, Bologna Continuità dell’immagine, Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona Ancora calda è l’erba sui miei prati, Studio Forni, Milan Arte Fiera, Bologna MiArt, Milan Continuità del talento, Galleria Forni Tendenze, Bologna Arte Expo, Bari Art Chicago, Chicago Artissima, Turin W il cinema, Galleria Il Gabbiano, Rome I grandi Mercanti: Tiziano Forni, curated by C. Malberti, Galleria Marieschi, Monza Arte Fiera, Bologna Arte Expo, Bari Artissima, Turin Frutti del pennello: quattrocento anni di natura morta italiana dalla collezione Silvano Lodi, Israel Museum, Jerusalem Arte Fiera, Bologna Ma è calda l’erba sui miei prati, Galleria Forni Tendenze, Bologna Arte Fiera, Bologna Expo C.T., Milan Sogo Esposizione d’arte italiana, Tokyo Arte Europea in Giappone, Museum Laforet, Tokyo Arte segreta, curated by V. Sgarbi, Galleria Forni, Bologna International Art Exposition, Chicago Parola Italia, Galleria Apollodoro, Rome La natura morta nell’arte italiana del ‘900, curated by V. Sgarbi, Castello Estense, Mesola FIAC, Paris 1986 1985 1984 1983 1977 1976 1974 1966 1965 1964 Artexpo, Galleria Forni, New York FIAC, Paris Lo studiolo di Francesco I de’ Medici e il suo doppio, Galleria Apollodoro, Rome International Art Fair, London Expo Arte, Bologna Expo Arte C.T., Milan FIAC, Paris I Riflessivi, Narciso Arte, Fabriano Expo Arte, Bari Italian Trade Centre, London M. J. C. Maison Pour Tous, Rumilly M. J. C. Maison Pour Tous, Annemasse Aspetti dell’arte contemporanea in Italia, Castello Sammarzano, Regello, Florence Premio Avezzano, Avezzano V Rassegna di Arti Figurative di Roma e del Lazio, Rome I Mostra di Arte Sacra, Il Ferro di Cavallo, Rome © ALBEMARLE GALLERY MMX ALBEMARLE