Espoarte | Sweet Icons

ESPOARTE, SWEET ICONS, THE ART OF REVEALING REALITY | R. Bernardi, V. Diena, C. Filippini

by Editorial Staff, September 12, 2024

In Sweet Icons, Roberto Bernardi, Valentina Diena, and Claudio Filippini reveal, with irony and conceptualism, the hidden aspects of reality.

The art of Roberto Bernardi, loved and sought after all over the world, captivates and amazes with its execution precision and vibrant colors. The candies, painted in oil, and the famous Oreo cookies made of resin conceal, behind an impeccable appearance, a deeper meaning. The artist stages the consumer society and its short circuits: just as candies seduce with their perfection, people tend to present themselves as something they are not.

His impeccable technique and poetic vision have made Bernardi famous worldwide; in 2022, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid added two of his works to its collection, and between 2022-2023, some of his pieces were auctioned by Sotheby’s and Phillips, achieving excellent results.

Valentina Diena presents works from her series “Icons” for the exhibition at the Varese gallery, featuring colored pencil drawings on paper depicting the great icons of pop culture wrapped in layers of tape marked “fragile.” The artist, layer after layer, leads a reflection on how easily recognizable these objects are and how society tends to stop at the surface and simple appearance without probing into the true essence of things.

Diena is an emerging talent; she was selected among hundreds of artists as a finalist for the X VAF Foundation Prize, and currently, some of her works are exhibited at the Stadtgalerie in Kiel, Germany. After the German stop, the exhibition itinerary for this important recognition will take Diena’s works and those of the other finalists to the MART in Trento and Rovereto, a prestigious location where the awards ceremony will take place.

In Claudio Filippini’s paintings created for Sweet Icons, the unbelievable happens: the untouchable Batman steps down from his hero throne to become an ordinary man dealing with everyday life. In this group exhibition of great character, the artist performs a whimsically irreverent act toward those who take themselves too seriously, demonstrating that superheroes are normal people facing daily life.

Filippini showcases extraordinary pictorial virtuosity, pushing new boundaries and challenging new subjects. Sweet Icons presents at the PUNTO SULL’ARTE Gallery in Varese the ambiguities and hidden sides of reality; the works, through intense colors and references to pop culture, initiate a profound reflection on how society has evolved.