Biancoscuro | Matteo Massagrande

MATTEO MASSAGRANDE – Beyond Illusion at Punto sull’Arte Gallery

Article in Biancoscuro, Art Magazine, by Vincenzo Chetta

A persistent, almost irritating misunderstanding lingers around contemporary figurative art: the lazy tendency to confuse technical skill with the mere photocopying of reality. It is a beginner’s mistake—one impossible to make when faced with the works of Matteo Massagrande. The master from Padua has returned to Punto sull’Arte in Varese with “Thresholds”, his third highly anticipated solo exhibition in the spaces on Viale Sant’Antonio, inaugurated on March 21.

Curated by Ivan Quaroni, the exhibition is a dizzying exploration of what we might define as the “realism of interiority.” Massagrande captivates us with the plausibility of his weathered interiors, worn floors, Venetian lagoons corroded by salt air (Case in Laguna, 2022), and even an unexpected “Balcony in Central Park.” And yet, none of what we see is a passive replica of the visible world.