Sono qui - Mimmo Paladino

Mimmo Paladino

Provenance:

Galerie Beyeler, Basel

Galerie Buchmann, Basel

Galerie Neumann, Dusseldorf


Born in Paduli, near Benevento, Italy in 1948, Mimmo Paladino is one of the most important living artists in Italy today. He gained international recognition for his participation in the 1980 Venice Biennale. Since 1980 he has also been a member of the Transavanguardia movement, whose works are characterized by a figurative and highly referential style; other members of the group include artists such as Sandro Chia, Enzo Cucci, and Francesco Clemente.


An early reduced abstract phase was followed by his figurative works. They are dominated by mask-like faces, often with closed eyelids or hollow eyes. His images portray people, animals, houses, gates, and forests, oscillating between the fairy-tale and the mysterious. As he says, he likes to concentrate on a very small object. This depth of immersion in an image simultaneously deprives it of a clear, unambiguous interpretation. This disconcerting inexplicability is heightened by the great significance that the artist attributes to dreams. For him they are an important source of all that is magical, unfathomable, and enigmatic. In the image space, which is not in perspective, figurative elements appear as symbolic signs. They evoke influences from ancient, byzantine, and medieval art. In this way Mimmo Paladino consciously draws from the iconographic tradition of his Italian homeland.





In 1983 the artist began introducing objects to his paintings to enhance their expression. An important formal characteristic of his works is the generally sculptural surface design, as in “Sono qui ” (I am here) from 1981.


Since 1986, his work has been regularly presented in solo and group exhibitions, including at the Paris, Sydney, and Venice Biennales as well as documenta in Kassel. Paladino lives and works mainly in Italy. His works can be found in numerous international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.

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