#STAYHOME

#StayHome is the new exclusive online exhibition at PUNTO SULL’ARTE. In the artworks by these 9 artists, painters and sculptors, our cities and homes have always been one of the core themes of their production. The quarantine period, that has limited our movements during these months, has led to a big change in our daily lives: the big metropolises have become depopulated, empty streets where only few people and cars whizzed isolated and scared; the houses have been reinvented, they have become offices, schools, playgrounds and gyms. The distinction between private and public life has been cancelled, but the new technologies have helped us to recreate, in just four walls, new environments in which we have been catapulted and welcomed. The works, in this exhibition, offer us the opportunity to think about the reality that surrounds us, and to appreciate the meaning and value that are kept in the environments in which we live every day.

Reminiscence of de Chirico’s metaphysics are the hefty and material paintings by Matthias Brandes. Time remains suspended, static and tangible just like the buildings he offers us. The atmosphere is full of suggestions, in a moment everything seems to be about to evolve, precariousness seems to prevail but the solidity of cypresses and parallelepipeds encourages us and gives us an absolute time of calm.

Linear, clean and minimalist Carlo Cane’s architectures stand out full of details on milky backgrounds in which white and grey-blue paints prevail. In this period of his career the artist has grasped the essence and what dominates is the intimate but, at the same time, detached and cold dimension of these buildings, monumental but bare of ornaments.

In the canvases by Daniele Cestari the man is present only through the trails that his passage has left, through the walls full of memories. Even though in the streets there is no one walking, no tourist who explores every hidden corner, no employee who rushes to reach his office, all this, the frenzy and thoughts, become tangible through the extensive brushstrokes and spatula gestures.

The immensity of blue envelops us, the night falls and embraces us. The darkness of Luca Gastaldo is not scary, it is reassuring. Through bitumen, oil and chalk, the horizon becomes immeasurable and the rest seems to disappear. Nature takes over by creating romantic landscapes in which man becomes conscious of his being infinitely small.

In her oils Marta Mezynska captures hidden corners of our cities, her curious gaze always looks for unusual visions that go unnoticed by those who live in those cities. The colorful signs of the shop windows stand out brightly and sharply emerging from the profiles of the historic centers showing us a new world, that we must rediscover.

Desolate and silent scenes are the unwitting protagonists in Ernesto Morales’ paintings. Each one of us is called to reread urban spaces by interpreting them according to our own experience and imagination. The issue of migration is deepened according to new standards and forces the observer to rethink his identity and the role he plays in society.

In Nicola Nannini’s paintings we discover places that look familiar to us despite the fact that there is no sign of man. The silence has become deafening, the night has taken over the city, the lights become warm and enveloping, only the artificial light of a few lampposts allows us to glimp the profiles of the monuments in the squares.

Kyoji Nagatani’s artistic expression is deeply linked to the Japanese minimalist essence. The simplicity of the linear and smooth forms of bronze conceal, indeed, a message hidden among the light and dark contrasts that the molded materials create. Massive sculptures appear graceful thanks to the sinuous lines that invite us to examine them in a deeper way by giving us a sense of calm.

Tomàs Martìnez Suñol takes his hometown back through shadows and colors that create compositions in which the expressive force is perfectly balanced with the warm and earthy tones of the glimpses of Badalona. Sometimes the surfaces are interrupted by imperceptible lines and windows that tell us something about men’s life.

We’ll all keep some traces of these days when we have experienced a different reality. In this period we have been able to appreciate what surrounds us and the art, that we have in our homes, has helped us, as art always does, to fill in the gaps, to give us the opportunity to dream and imagine places that we have never lived, to escape, at least with thoughts, in a parallel reality.