ANDREA FRANCOLINO | MELISSA MCGILL | MARINELLA SENATORE |
Mazzoleni returns to ART DUBAI 2024 with a project dedicated to the subject of Relations, explored in the work of Marinella Senatore, Andrea Francolino and Melissa McGill, through a variety of different media.
Art Dubai 2024 | Madinat Jumeirah Conference & Events Centre | Booth A-3
Collectors Preview (by invitation only): 28 – 29 February 2024
General Admission: 1 – 3 March 2024
Opening Hours
The “crack” serves as a key element in Andrea Francolino’s work. While the connotations associated with a “crack” traditionally encompass notions of breakage, fault, corruption or fragility, Francolino transforms this seemingly negative feature, into a profound source of renewal. Much like the transformative practice of Kintsugi in Japanese art, exemplified in pieces like m2 and Fragment, where the crack in the concrete is meticulously fused with a golden leaf, the artist highlights its accidental uniqueness, contrasting it against the backdrop of mass standardisation.
“Looking at a crack is like looking at the universe, I reflect on the meaning of life and the meaning of things”
“يشبه النظر إلى الصدع النظر إلى الكون، ما يجعني أفكر في معنى الحياة ومعنى الأشياء“
His “Water Series” also resonates with an intimate relationship to the natural landscape, where space and time are imprinted on paper using only the inorganic element of water. These works are at once ephemeral and enduring, thanks to the coordinates that fix its existence within a precise spatial and temporal context chosen by the artist. The concepts of fragility and impermanence are thus reflected in the intimate reflections suggested by the “crack”.
Melissa McGill’s practice explores relations between humankind, nature and the interconnectedness of all living things. McGill is a New York based interdisciplinary artist known for ambitious, collaborative, site-specific public art projects. At the heart of her work is a focus on community, meaningful shared experiences, and lasting impact. Spanning a variety of media including performance, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, sound, light, video and immersive installation, McGill has presented both solo exhibitions and independent public art projects since 1991.
“In this moment, the vibrant radiance of the vela al terzo tradition shone brightly – community, pride, friendship, family, freedom, love and respect for nature.”
“في هذه اللحظة، يتجلى التألق النابض بالحيوية للقوارب الشراعية التقليدية “vela al terzo” بإشراق؛ ويرمز إلى المجتمع والفخر والصداقة والعائلة والحرية والحب واحترام الطبيعة”.
One such project, Red Regatta, is represented at Art Dubai through a selection of large-scale hand-painted photographic renderings. This project consisted of an unprecedented series of four large-scale site-specific performances, presented in parallel with the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019, in which 52 traditional vela al terzo boats sailed in choreographed regattas, each with sails hand-painted in distinct shades of red. Her recent paintings made with organic indigo pigment on paper, with intricate brush techniques, invite contemplation on the preciousness of water.
The color red holds numerous connotations: life, passion, love and Venice itself— from its bricks and terra cotta rooftops, to its flag and history of trade in red pigment, to the lustrous red hues in paintings by Venetian masters; but of all of the meanings that spring forth, it is red’s ability to communicate alarm that resonates most deeply. Venice is a city that both lives and is existentially threatened by the changing sea and weather patterns. […] Furthermore, water is suggestive of a certain placelessness, in its ability to absorb and to reflect. With the image of the red sails of Red Regatta coloring the ripples of the Venetian Lagoon still caught in my mind, I remain struck by how elegantly and poignantly the project brings into question the relationship between humans and nature, the built and natural environment, art and life. (Vittorio Calabrese, in “Melissa McGill. Red Regatta”, Milan 2020, p. 22)
Marinella Senatore bases her creative practice on the transformative power of social engagement and human relations. Her luminaries and neon work, like Remember the First Time You Saw Your Name, 2022, place community and participation at their centre, encouraging public activation and involvement through her use of language, light and scale.
“the light can prove to be a tool for narration and poetic creation, as well as for resistance and cohesion”
“يمكن أن يثبت الضوء أنه أداة للسرد والإبداع الشعري، وكذلك للصمود والتماسك”
Her collages explore universal themes including complex social issues, as demonstrated in the series Opera! 2023, collage and gold leaf on wood panel. Within these works the hieratic golden backdrop, which recalls the scenes of Italian Old Masters, is juxtaposed with materials from her archive. Photographs, memories of installations, images of her public performances with The School of Narrative Dance, musical scores, botanical images, and texts converge, inviting reflection and participation from the viewer.
