We met in Paris the Italian artist Andrea Romano, currently having his solo show in at Gaudel de Stampa gallery, in Belleville. As explained by art critic Michele D’Aurizio:”On the occasion of his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Andrea Romano (b. 1984; lives in Milan) presents three art works—a felt-pen drawing on paper, a nylon sculpture, and a granite-framed pencil drawing on paper—all of which can all be seen as illegible signs aspiring to acquire the status of an icon. On this purpose, the artist’s deployment of beauty is meant less as a proof of skill than as a strategy for pleasing the viewer: behind his delicate shapes and mesmerizing pictures, the artist pursues a remarkable boldness in its creative process, aiming to undertake an active position within the history of visual culture. The notion of legacy, on one hand, and the strive for novelty, on the other, are the poles between which the terrain of the exhibition is defined.
The nylon sculpture Highlight (2013), is manufactured through a 3D printer and then varnished with the most innovative paint employed in car refinishing. It is the first outcome in a series of sculptures to mark the passage of time. By employing the newest materials and technologies, each sculpture establishes a strong symbolic attachment to its present time; and yet embodying a record achievement, it is doomed to reincarnate itself into an object with better performance.
The felt-pen drawing belong to the series Untitled (2012-on going). Details of the encounters between men and dinosaurs in Hanna-Barbera’s cartoon sitcomThe Flintstones, this picture render the clash between a prehistorical scenario and a modern lifestyle: the signs hint at gestures that the viewer is asked to interpret, like an archaeologist with discovered findins. The pencil drawing is part of the series Claque & Shill (2011-on going), in which the artist attempts to establish a symbiosis between pictures and their supports. The drawing and its stone frame are to be interpreted as two figures that manipulate the reception of a phenomenon, by infiltrating the audience and orientating its taste. A certain degree of theatricality is also pursued in the choice of characters that convey an emotional impact, in an attempt to overcome the border between stage and life into a reality of representation”.
Andrea Romano has already exhibited in numerous, group and solo exhibitions, including, in 2012,Sotto la Strada la Spiaggia, at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
