In Gianna Dispenza’s most recent solo exhibition, symbolism takes center stage. Her works delight the viewer’s subconscious with manifestations of abstract portraits, hovering still lifes, and scenes of nature all delivered on the most obscure of canvases. From public transport tickets to newspapers and wrappers, recycled pieces of the artist’s life proudly takes a spotlight in the exhibition which just concluded on January 18th. The show that took place at Galleria Ramo in Como, Italy was an intimate yet spectacular affair in every which way.
One of the most fascinating pieces in the show is a small work placed just above the floor in an abstract corner, the work’s content you may ask? A 29 × 21.5 cm painting on paper, with the canvas appearing to be a page of a book at first glance that depicts a vividly red hot dog encased by a bun far too small for the sausage. Yet it is the words of German Sociologist Thomas Lemke and his colleagues that cover the painting.
“I work through a lot of repetition. So even though the formal qualities change, I’ve actually been painting through the same ideas since about 2013. It’s the point where complementary ideas meet, and bleed into each other. I think, for instance, you could look at some of my paintings and question whether the figures were intimate or violent; sharing a meal or eating alone; sleeping or failing to sleep, and so on. For whatever reason these daily habits keep re-emerging in my work. And while as headers they might seem mundane, they are things we all live through. I’m pairing out the situations as opposites, but as I work through them, I find that they are positioned across a continuum for me, and are vastly complex, overlapping, and fragile even,” says Gianna Dispenza
Flowers are another theme that is prominent in this body of Dispenza’s work, although many creations in the exhibit featured orchids the piece de la resistance is a work titled “Double Like Tata but Mama Doesn’t Have Them.” Even though flowers and orchids in particular are often characterized as rather feminine, Dispenza digs deep into the meaning behind the word. In fact, orchid is derived from órkhis the ancient Greek word for testicle. With this in mind we find that “Double Like Tata but Mama Doesn’t Have Them” represents a dual masculine and feminine energy demonstrated through deep meaningful figuration.
Images courtesy of: GALLERIA RAMO
