THE EXHIBITION:
Andrew Smaldone returns to the SRISA gallery for his third solo exhibition: Correlative.
Significantly, for this show, Smaldone has purposefully focused on two subjects he has visited before in his career: architectural interiors and non-spaces.
The works in the exhibition were all painted together: in a manner where depictions of architectural interiors were worked on alongside paintings of solely atmospheric color. The aim of this working method is to study both the similarity and difference in the paintings; to compare and see the relationship between works that are also visually different. This procedure further cultivates the natural way in which the human mind tends to wander from one subject to the next, oftentimes without a linear logic.
Sometimes what occurs while attempting to depict the same painting twice or even three times is that they remain relatively similar in terms of subject matter but differ in their atmosphere and color. While at other times the paintings become different works altogether.
Surface and scale are other practical approaches the artist implements towards his goal. Using different surfaces changes the way each work is painted. This change of surface, in other words, provides a certain discontinuity of technique: some works have more painterly brush strokes, for example, while others implement a smoother sfumato style.
In the non-spaces, Smaldone prepared the linen surface over a period of weeks before painting, while the small interiors are painted on readymade canvases bought directly from the store.
Ultimately, Smaldone aims to achieve work through his artistic process that cultivates the correlation of “both/and”. He believes that through the act of painting, this visual idea can bring him closer to his interest in processes of memory and time, as well as the notions of the multivalent and infinite.
Andrew Smaldone ritorna alla galleria SRISA con la sua terza mostra personale: Correlative.
Significativamente, per questa esposizione, Smaldone sceglie di concentrarsi intenzionalmente su due temi che ha già esplorato nel corso della sua carriera: gli interni architettonici e i non-luoghi.
Le opere in mostra sono state tutte dipinte in parallelo: in un processo in cui la rappresentazione di interni architettonici si sviluppa accanto a tele dedicate esclusivamente al colore atmosferico. L’obiettivo di questo metodo è indagare la somiglianza e la differenza tra i dipinti, confrontando e osservando le relazioni che emergono anche tra opere visivamente distinte. Tale procedura riflette il modo naturale con cui la mente umana tende a vagare da un soggetto all’altro, spesso senza una logica lineare.
Nel tentativo di rappresentare la stessa immagine due o tre volte, accade talvolta che i dipinti restino simili nel soggetto, ma differiscano nell’atmosfera e nella tonalità cromatica; altre volte, invece, si trasformano in opere completamente diverse.
La superficie e la scala sono ulteriori strumenti pratici che l’artista impiega nel suo percorso. L’uso di supporti differenti modifica infatti il modo in cui ogni opera viene realizzata. Questo cambiamento di superficie introduce una certa discontinuità tecnica: alcune tele presentano pennellate più materiche e gestuali, mentre altre si distinguono per uno stile più levigato, di tipo sfumato.
Nei “non-spazi”, Smaldone prepara la superficie di lino nel corso di settimane prima di iniziare a dipingere, mentre i piccoli interni sono realizzati su tele già pronte, acquistate direttamente in negozio.
In definitiva, l’artista aspira, attraverso il proprio processo pittorico, a coltivare la correlazione del “both/and” (sia/e sia). Crede che, attraverso l’atto del dipingere, questa idea visiva possa avvicinarlo ai suoi interessi legati ai processi della memoria e del tempo, così come ai concetti del molteplice e dell’infinito.
THE ARTIST:
Andrew Smaldone was born in 1978 in Denver, Colorado USA. Smaldone’s works explore surface, space, and color: a process he initiated in 2005 during his studies at Central Saint Martins College, London. He has won a variety of important prizes including the prestigious Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant in 2015, New American Paintings selected by Dan Cameron 2011, and the Presidential Arts Scholarship to attend the George Washington University 1997-2001. He has shown his art widely in the US, Europe, and the UK: a selection of exhibitions include: “Rooms” Hubertus Hoffschild, Lübeck (2016); “Underpin”, Egg, Livorno (2015); “A Liquid Space – Ten Year Retrospective”, SHED with number_5 GmbH, Villnachern CH (2015); “One Thing Against Another Creates”, SRISA Gallery, Firenze (2014); “A Fashionable But Apt Phrase”, Number_ 5 GmbH, Zurich (2008); “Accrochage”, Hubertus Hoffschild, Lübeck (2019); “Dissemination”, Casabianca, Zola Predosa, Bologna, (2015); “Defect as an indication of desire”, galleria neon>campobase, Bologna, (2011); “P.A.S.T. Projects library and archive” Woodmill, London (2012); “Right to Assemble”, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville (2010); “Near The Center”, Interno 5, Brescia (2009); Water Carefully, Galleria Neon > campobase, Bologna (2009); “Dialogue 4 works on paper”, Zeitgeist gallery, Nashville (2008). He lives and works in Florence.
Website: https://www.andrewsmaldone.org/#1
EXHIBITION OPENING:
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
OPENING:
January 13th 2022, 6:00 pm
DATES:
January 13th 2022-February 4th, 2023
Opening hours:
MondayーFriday: 10 am ー 7 pm
Saturday: 1 pm ー 7 pm
Sunday: 1 pm ー 4 pm
Free entrance
SPACE:
ADDRESS:
SRISA Gallery - Santa Reparata International School of Art
Via San Gallo 53/R, 50129 Firenze