Soglie | Matteo Massagrande

SOGLIE: Matteo Massagrande
curated by di Ivan Quaroni

• PODCAST

MATTEO MASSAGRANDE, a master of contemporary figuration, is the protagonist of the new spring exhibition at PUNTO SULL’ARTE. The OPENING RECEPTION of his solo exhibition, titled SOGLIE – Stanze, Paesaggi, Città, will be held on SATURDAY, MARCH 21, from 11 AM to 1 PM at the main gallery in Viale Sant’Antonio 59/61 in Varese. This is the third solo exhibition the artist presents within the gallery’s spaces, confirming a long-established dialogue. The artist, along with curator Ivan Quaroni, will be present at the opening reception.

The exhibition brings together a collection of interiors, landscapes, and urban views that highlight the variety and continuity of an ever-evolving artistic exploration. The title introduces the theme that shapes the entire project: the threshold as a point of crossing and as a liminal space. Open doors, windows, passages leading to Mediterranean courtyards, and views of the Venetian lagoon or cityscapes seen from above establish lines that guide the gaze.

Massagrande’s paintings progress through a gradual construction of the image, defined by layers, chromatic revisions, and surfaces that occasionally retain traces of the execution. Interiors occupy a central role. The rooms feature worn stone floors, walls marked by time, corroded fixtures, and curtains that modulate the spaces and regulate the visual rhythm. These are places reconstructed from observations accumulated over the years, reworked through a method that transforms real elements into a cohesive and measured structure. The light, always lateral or filtered, defines volumes, depths, and relationships between planes.

The landscapes presented in the exhibition develop through visions gathered over time, with a construction that prioritizes the measurement of planes and the progression of forms. Paintings such as Lago (2023), Cipresso (2022), Villaggio Sloveno (2025), and Il mulino (2025) showcase a continuity of method based on chromatic variation and the arrangement of masses. The compositions advance through gradual transitions, with proportional relationships that generate a stable balance between surfaces and depths.

The urban views in the exhibition focus primarily on Venice, as evident in the selected artworks. Case in Laguna (2025) and Riva degli Schiavoni (2019) depict facades eroded by salt, wooden bridges, and viewpoints that frame sections of the lagoon. Alongside these images are two paintings dedicated to city bridges, Il Ponte (2019) and Il Ponte (2025), similar in spatial arrangement and chromatic register. Adding to this Venetian nucleus is Poggiolo a Central Park (2023), the only painting set in New York, where the verticality of the buildings and the openness of the park create an urban vision filtered through the same formal discipline that underpins the interiors and landscapes. All the urban paintings demonstrate a keen attention to the structure of volumes and the rhythm of levels.

The opening reception will be held on SATURDAY, MARCH 21, from 11 AM to 1 PM at the main gallery in Viale Sant’Antonio 59/61 in Varese. The artist and curator Ivan Quaroni will be present.

A bilingual CATALOG produced by PUNTO SULL’ARTE, featuring reproductions of the exhibited works and the text by curator Ivan Quaroni, will accompany the exhibition.

The exhibition will remain open until Saturday, May 9, 2026.

Matteo Massagrande was born in Padua in 1959. He began exhibiting at a young age, in 1973, participating in group exhibitions and competitions throughout Italy, receiving numerous accolades right from the start. Alongside painting, he developed an intense graphic activity, which began in 1974, leading him to participate in significant group exhibitions. Some of his engravings have become part of the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints at the Uffizi in Florence. He has held over a hundred solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad, and his works are present in museums, churches, and public and private collections. Notable exhibitions include the solo show “Canto dolente d’amore (ultimo giorno di Van Gogh)” at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, as part of the “Van Gogh. Tra il grano e il cielo” exhibition in 2017, and the exhibition “In my room artists paint the interior 1950–NOW” at The Fralin Museum of Art, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA in 2018. Recent exhibitions include “Ungaretti Poeta e Soldato” in 2024 in Gorizia at the Museo di Santa Chiara and the Galleria Comunale di Arte Contemporanea in Monfalcone, and “Confini. Da Gauguin a Hopper” in 2025 at the prestigious Villa Manin in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. He currently lives and works between Padua and Hajós in Hungary.