Alessandro Pessoli
TESTA CRISTIANA

At the invitation of the Cloisters of Sant'Eustorgio, Alessandro Pessoli has conceived Testa Cristiana (Christian Head), an exhibition of fifteen works that brings together some previously created pieces and others made specifically for this new context. Curated by Eva Fabbris, the show is expressly conceived to engage in meaningful conversation with architectural and decorative elements in the cloisters.

Pessoli’s practice is typically multimedia in nature, focusing on painting and sculpture, and also favoring ceramic. The exhibition at Sant’Eustorgio will display the variety of materials and techniques for which the artist is well known, for instance his consistent fascination with the human form. Through these representations, Pessoli deals with existential themes. Historical figures, classical art historical iconography, and everyday images intermingle in a reconstruction of reality that is dreamlike, painful, and sometimes grotesque, but never lacking instinctive emotion. Pessoli’s iconography, particularly from the late 2000s on, has included religious elements, especially themes and images from the life of Christ. He participated in the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) with a series of drawings depicting religious themes. His 2011 solo show at the Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia centered on a trilogy of large canvases evoking stories from the New Testament. Even when the references to the sacred are less direct, representations of the emotional and psychological life of the individual always have center stage.

During the course of the exhibition, a book with photographs of the exhibition will be published by Lenz (Milan), containing texts by Eva Fabbris, Giuseppe Frangi, Alexis Vaillant and a conversation between the artists Pier Paolo Campanini and Alessandro Pessoli.

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