The contemporary art galleries Santo Ficara and Il Ponte are presenting two exhibitions on sculptor and painter Aldo Mondino. The exhibit coincides with the inauguration of the new location for the Santo Ficara gallery. After putting together over the years has a group of works made by the artist between 1963 and 1964, Il Ponte presents a double solo exhibition in collaboration with the Archivio Aldo Mondino.
In its Omaggio, Galleria Santo Ficara presents works chosen from its collection that embrace a period of time spanning from 1965/66 (Ottobre Russo) to 2004 (Applausi). Other pieces on display include Das Meer (1980), Eiffel Safariana (1989), Turcatina (2001), Pittore d’insegne (2001), Tauromachia (2003), Mosaico (2003) and Danza Sufi (2004).
Il Ponte presents works made between 1963 and 1965 such as Quadrettature, Monocromi, Casorati and Onde, that were exhibited in 1964 at the Turin Gian Enzo Sperone Art Gallery and at the prestigious Gian Tomaso Liverani’s Galleria La Salita. These works, which display an oblique approach to Pop Art, were the Mondino’s first great revelation.
“The problem is always painting: whichever move we make, Mondino is able to wrong-foot us, and this is what he has done throughout his forty-year artistic career. His is a complex game continually calling into question the conventions of art. Mondino asks himself about the hidden meaning of the image, he grasps its unconscious dimension but at the same time does not desist from creating a genuinely decorative depiction on the basis of the idea that Henri Matisse had of decoration and that western painting has often denied. No exceptions made for trends, no conceptual temptations, no need to stick to an aesthetic model, but a mental journey that passes through canvas, paint brushes and linoleum. We should not forget the basic element that underlies all of Mondino’s research: paradox. Everything slips into another dimension, seeking to grasp the many aspects of the image following the way paved by Dadaism and Surrealism,” wrote a few years ago art critic Alberto Fiz.
Mondino was born in Turin in 1938, where he died in 2005. In 1959 he moved to Paris where he followed the courses held by Hayter at Atelier 17 and the Ecole du Louvre, as well as the mosaic course at the French Academy with Severini and his assistant, Licata.
The great success of Mondino was partially due to his friendship with Tancredi, as well as his association with Jou roy, Errò, and Lebel. The famous maestros Matta and Lam were equally important for his formation as an artist. Through his work, Mondino advanced the idea that the public are no longer passive observers, but active participants in a work of art. After a year-long hiatus of displaying his work, he exhibited in a private residence, which he was loaned so he could escape the traditional circuit. In the decade or so since his death, a long series of solo and group exhibitions have paid tribute to the artist’s work
BOX:
Homage to Aldo Mondino
Inauguration of the location of
Santo Ficara Art Gallery
Opening Saturday Feb. 24 at 11.00 a.m.
Via Arnolfo, 6 L – 50121 Florence
[email protected] www.santoficara.it
tel +39 055.234.0239 fax +39 055.226.9190
Opening hours: from Monday to Saturday 9.30a.m./12.30pm – 3.30pm/7.30pm
Quadrettature, Monocromi,
Casorati, Onde
1963-64
Galleria Il Ponte
Opening Saturday Feb. 24 at 5.00 p.m.
via di Mezzo 42/B – 50121 Florence
[email protected] www.galleriailponte.com
tel +39 055240617 fax +39 0555609892
Opening hours 3.30-7.00pm, Saturdays on appointment – closed Sundays and bank holidays