Mimmo Paladino: Bronze and Iron, Sculpture 1987-2000

19 Feb — 22 Mar 2003

Paladino's sculptures can be seen as ruminations on the fragile remnants of the past, but they also bind the past firmly to the present by drawing on our experience of more recent sculpture, by Brancusi, for example, or by Paladino's compatriot, Lucio Fontana, or by Cy Twombly, another artist who works both as a painter and a sculptor. The figure plays a central role for Paladino, and if the emotions suggested by human gesture and expression remain resolutely enigmatic, the figures themselves create their own atmosphere of quiet drama. In a sculpture of 1993, the human presence is represented by masks and helmets laid out on a table, a display of trophies that evokes the grimness of the battlefield rather than the glory. In another, a life-size male figure patiently allows a flock of birds to settle on his naked body.

Paladino was born in Paduli, near Naples in 1948. In 1968, he completed his studies at the Liceo artistico di Benevento and had his first solo exhibition at the Galleria Carolina, Portici. In 1980, Paladino was represented in the Aperto section of the Venice Biennale together with Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi and Nicola de Maria all five artists were associated with the Transavanguardia movement. He participated in 'A New Spirit in Painting' at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1981 and in the same year a major solo exhibition of his drawings, beginning at the Kunstmuseum Basel, toured to various venues in Germany. His first retrospective exhibition was held in 1985 at the St�dtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich. Other major solo exhibitions include: Galleria Civica d'Arte Contemporanea in Trento (1992), Forte Belvedere, Florence (1993), Scuderie di Palazzo Reale, Piazza del Plebiscito and Villa Pignatelli, Naples (1995-6), South London Gallery (1999). A major retrospective of his work is currently on show at the Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy.