‘Having been immersed for so long in the search of the new, in the search of the hotness, now I feel the kind of stimulation and excitement and level of insight that I need and I crave, only history can give me.’
Francesco Vezzoli
Almine Rech Gallery is proud to announce Francesco Vezzoli’s first solo exhibition in London since 2006. The exhibition will be on view from September the 8th to October the 3rd, 2015.
Vezzoli has often intertwined the past and the present in his work, giving Greek-Roman statues the faces of contemporary celebrities (top model Karen Elson, for instance), photographing Hollywood divas, like Eva Mendes, as original antique sculptures, or portraying popstar Nicki Minaj as historical courtesans such as Madame de Pompadour or the Marquise de Montespan.
Although straying from his predilection for glamour and stardom, this exhibition still retains the idea of bringing together the past and the present, incorporating authentic Roman artworks into contemporary pieces. Drawing on extensive research about classical art, Vezzoli collaborates with a team of archeologists to restore Roman artifacts to their original shape and colours. Yet these new works are not about the present being superimposed onto the past but rather about the past reaching out to us.
By presenting these historical pieces, Vezzoli opens the door to meditations on authenticity and representation in both artistic and archaeological studies, questioning about the real emotional significance of classic sculpture.
With this exhibition, Vezzoli will display a conceptual act, as well as a romantic intervention intended to restate how ancient marble portraits of men and women were originally conceived and produced as vehicles of beauty and desire.
Francesco Vezzoli (b. 1971, Brescia, Italy) lives and works in Milan. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Teatro Romano’, MoMA PS1, New York, USA (2014); ‘Cinema Vezzoli’, MOCA, Los Angeles, USA (2013); ‘Galleria Vezzoli’, MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2013); ‘The Museum of Crying Women’, QMA, Doha, Qatar (2013); ‘Olga Forever’, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, Belgium (2012); 24H MUSEUM, in collaboration with the Prada Foundation, Palais de Iena, Paris, France (2012); ‘Francesco Vezzoli: Ballets Russes Italian Style’, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (2009); ‘Dalì Dalì featuring Francesco Vezzoli’, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (2009); ‘Right You Are, If You Think You Are’, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (2007); and ‘Francesco Vezzoli: Marlene Redux A True Hollywood Story! (Part One)’, Tate Modern, London, UK (2006).
Recent group exhibitions include ‘Dans un Intérieur. Meubles, oeuvres murales et textiles d’artistes’, Almine Rech Gallery Brussels, Belgium (2015) and Almine Rech Gallery, Paris, France (2014); ‘In Part’ and ‘An Introduction’, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy (2015); Venice Biennial, Italy (2014, 2007, 2005 & 2001); ‘Whitney Biennial 2006: Day for Night’ (curated by Chrissie Iles & Philippe Vergne), The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA (2006); ‘Short History of Performance IV’, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK (2006).
Francesco Vezzoli will be part of PERFORMA 15, New York, USA, (2015) and the group exhibitions ‘Picasso Mania’, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2015) and ‘After Picasso: 80 Contemporary Artists’ Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, USA (2015).
