EXHIBITIONS IN BOLOGNA: MASTER MORANDI'S TRAILS IN BERTOZZI&CASONI'S CERAMIC
THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPLENDOURS AT GALLERIA D'ARTE MAGGIORE IN BOLOGNA
Giorgio Morandi keeps on impressing new generations of artists, just like he did when he was Professor at Bologna Beauty Arts Academy teaching etching. Paper, etching molds, canvas and colour palette do not start today's suggestions, that prefer other ways. Ceramic is an example of these new paths, and Bertozzi&Casoni, nickname for Giampaolo Bertozzi and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni, have been using it for many years in order to retrace art history, modernise antique works' atmosphere (especially still lives) and creating three-dimensional works. Their works mirror our hyper productive time, that constantly consumes food, objects and nature.
Morandi and Bertozzi&Casoni meet at Galleria d'Arte Maggiore, via D'Azeglio 15, through the exhibition called “Less is more” on display until May 31st. Some of Morandi's Fiori (flowers) and Paesaggi (landscapes) paintings are hung on the walls while in the middle of the gallery some sculptures from the series “d'après Morandi” are standing.
Apparently, ceramic works are very similar to the still lives on the paintings, with the typical thin vases and the delicate flowers. But Bertozzi&Casoni intention is certainly not to be mimetic. This series of works was created for a past exhibit at Morandi Museum called "Praise of fake flowers" (Elogio dei fiori finti). In the title there is the clue for understanding the exhibit. It is commonly known that the bolognese painter didn't paint fresh roses, but he used to pose the same flowers on table, either dried or made in paper or silk.
Bertozzi&Casoni work on this gap between reality and fiction, between nature and artificial that distinguishes all of their production. They study Morandi's works not as the viewers see them, but as the paintings are made, searching for the essence of form, light and colour.
Furthermore, their ceramic bouquets are livened up by huge insects (another typical element of Bertozzi&Casoni's work) that disturb the quietness that Morandi's paintings release. They are natural and living elements that contrast the concept of still life.
The dialogue between the artists ends up in a meeting point: both Morandi's paintings and Bertozzi&Casoni's sculputers aim for a frozen time that put life and death on a motionless balance.
