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4/4/2014

All roads lead to LA

Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica

curated by Matteo Galbiati

ARENA 1 GALLERY in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles is pleased to present ALL ROADS LEAD TO LA two group shows curated by Italian curator Matteo Galbiati and Los Angeles curator Carl Berg. These two unique exhibitions, OVERPAINTING and CONNECTING POINT LA showcase artists from Italy and Los Angeles in a collaborative expression of two distinctive artistic traditions.

OVERPAINTING feature 5 painters from Italy including SONIA COSTANTINI (Mantova - Italy, 1956), PAOLA FONTICOLI (Torino - Italy, 1961), PAOLO IACCHETTI (Milano - Italy, 1953), ELENA MODORATI (Milano - Italy, 1969), and ALBANO MORANDI (Salò - Italy, 1958).

CONNECTING POINT LA includes GEGAM KACHERIAN (Yerevan - Armenia, 1962), MATTHEW MAY (Newport Beach CA - U.S.A., 1970), GARY PALLER (Los Angeles CA - U.S.A., 1953), JAMIE RUSSOM (Mission Viejo, CA - U.S.A., 1977), CHRIS TRUEMAN (Corvalis, OR - U.S.A., 1978)
The two exhibitions inspire the relationship and dialogue between two different traditions and histories of contemporary art.

The first event (“All Roads Lead to LA”) features Italian artists at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica, California, accompanied by a small exhibition of LA artists.

The second exhibition, part of this cultural exchange, will feature American artists at the Foundation Vittorio Leonesio in Puegnago del Garda (BS), Italy .

These artists, together, will give the public an opportunity to analyze the paths, experiences, and different manners of creating art in two distinct artistic languages.

In OVERPAINTING, the Italian artists pursue their poetic narrative through painting leaving the viewer to interpret its profound value. The substantial and vital force of their work portrays a living language without regard to mercantilist speculation nor the limitations of fashion.

A refined conceptual dimension prevails in the work of the Italian artists which requires the eye to incorporate the sense of "seeing" beyond the uncertainty of the tangible.

For each artist, the undertaking of painting is a significant act that goes beyond the mere representation of an image: the investigation seeks to solicit a look capable of gazing deep inside to overcome the limited notion of the visible horizon.

Sonia Costantini practices a monochromatic manner of painting that thrives on a vibrant use of color within a minimalist treatment of the paint surface. The color spreads through a complex weave of brushstrokes that render it alive and sensitive to the influences of light in various treatments, making its presence more elusive and indefinable than the color itself. The color categorizes, conceives, and verifies its singular condition, and the work is regenerated on the spot, acquiring a value which not only influences and conditions the eye of the beholder, but also impacts the moment and the place where the meeting takes place.

Paola Fonticoli sees painting as an opportunity to thicken and compose figures, gauzy and translucent, which provides only a hint to our perception. Moving through space, balanced on a transparent embodiment of their shape in proximity to each other, an evolving and transforming dialogue occurs. Often painted on transparent sheets of Plexiglas or glass, these literary alphabets develop a special relationship with the painted sensory trace that appears to give rise to a substantial presence.

A profound spatiality also is apparent in the research of Paul Iacchetti, whose paintings evoke images and build a substance of materiality. He also starts from a minimum gradient, though here the form is canceled by the occurrence of a color determinant in itself as an agent for construction. The monochrome splits into layers of bubbling indicators that refer also to the involvement of signs representing the germinating gesture of the artist. Monochrome for him is never an outcome but a concept, painstakingly thought out. The work is finally realized as an immovable object that awakens from emotional pressures into diverse forms.

Elena Modorati’s paintings use a wax texture which is a constant presence in her work. This material becomes a single body, the expression of her language, a symbolic defining gradient that characterizes her every thought. Within the "body" of the primordial and diaphanous wax tablets, emerge and sink, graphic elements and texts, the meaning of which remains hidden and unreadable. The message of her work heightens the level of awareness of the viewer. The images capture a pure and deeper meaning.

Albano Morandi’s pictorial intervention acts as a counterpoint to a dialogue between his efforts and his actions. He works with shapes and materials, which are derived from the "every day" common object. Materials found in the mundane and ordinary are the foundation of our personal memories. Morandi uses signs and pictorial presences that alter and change our perception. The artist, with constant and minimal gestures, brings to our consciousness a new reality. Clothed in strong and powerful emotions by way of a simple lyrical, intense expression, he engages in a multi-faceted artistic expression, which well describes his temperament and character. Morandi always manages to generate awe and wonder emanating from a simple object, escaping from its trivial meaning to expand into a new dimension, that of art..

“Connecting Point LA”, is the second exhibition of “All Roads Lead to LA”, featuring five LA based artists who will concurrently show with the five Italian artists at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica, California. This exhibition with Gegam Kacherian, Matthew May, Gary Paller, Jamie Russom, and Chris Trueman, will travel to the Fondazione Vittorio Leonesio Puegnago del Garda (BS) in Italy in May 2014.

May 17 - June 16, 2014
Reception: Saturday, May 17, 6 p.m.
Fondazione Vittorio Leonesio
Via Palazzi, Mura di Puegnago, Puegnago del Garda (BS), Ital

ARENA 1 is an exhibition space founded by Santa Monica Art Studios directors Yossi Govrin and Sherry Frumkin. Based in an historic hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, ARENA 1 invites internationally known as well as newly established curators to develop innovative and compelling exhibitions.

Image: Albano Morandi, Dinamismo Plastico Instabile, cartesiane rosse (Dittico), 2014. Collage, nastro adesivo e cera su stoffa e ready-made, cm 70x90

ARENA 1
a project of Santa Monica Art Studios
3026 Airport Avenue - Santa Monica, CA 90405 U.S.A.
gallery hours: Wed-Sat, 12-6pm

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