Tauromachia
from 15 March 2008 to 30 April 2008
Bologna
Aldo Mondino – Tauromachia
The exhibition *Tauromachia*, dedicated to Aldo Mondino’s works on bullfighters and bullfights created between 2003 and 2004, opens on Saturday 15 March at 6 pm at the Galleria de’ Foscherari in Bologna.
An extraordinarily curious and unpredictable artist, Mondino was captivated by the beauty of bullfighting and its world as early as the 1980s. He attended several bullfights as a spectator, both in France and Spain, and befriended one of the most famous bullfighters of his time, Ordoñez, to whom he dedicated several portraits, on linoleum and using chocolates. For Mondino, bullfighting held a special fascination; he never failed to note similarities with the art world, stating in 2003: “For me, the bullfighter is a metaphor for the artist, the man who knows how to master fear through gestures of great beauty.”
Mondino’s work has always been characterised by extraordinary experimentation with materials, used and combined in non-traditional and often unconventional ways, combined with a truly extraordinary playful element. Irony, the charm of linguistic assonances and quotations, and the uninhibited use of materials are elements that have defined the unmistakable and unique style of Mondino’s poetics.
For the theme of bullfighting too, Mondino chose an ancient medium: ceramics. The exhibition will feature a selection of azulejos – small ceramic tiles painted in blue or red – which form pictures of various sizes, produced at the Bottega d’Arte Ceramica Gatti in Faenza. They depict scenes and protagonists of bullfighting, the moves, the turns, and the symbols of the ganaderías. This previously unseen series was conceived in 2000 and completed shortly before the artist’s death, and is being exhibited to the public for the first time.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue, edited by Claudia Casali, featuring all one hundred ceramic works; for the first time, the famous Diccionario taurino will be published, containing Mondino’s personal thoughts and comments on the world of bullfighting. A limited edition of one hundred copies will include a ceramic tile, following the artist’s original design.
The exhibition, organised in collaboration with the Aldo Mondino Archive, runs until 30 April and is open daily, Monday to Saturday from 10am to 12.30pm and from 4pm to 7.30pm. Sundays by appointment only.
An extraordinarily curious and unpredictable artist, Mondino was captivated by the beauty of bullfighting and its world as early as the 1980s. He attended several bullfights as a spectator, both in France and Spain, and befriended one of the most famous bullfighters of his time, Ordoñez, to whom he dedicated several portraits, on linoleum and using chocolates. For Mondino, bullfighting held a special fascination; he never failed to note similarities with the art world, stating in 2003: “For me, the bullfighter is a metaphor for the artist, the man who knows how to master fear through gestures of great beauty.”
Mondino’s work has always been characterised by extraordinary experimentation with materials, used and combined in non-traditional and often unconventional ways, combined with a truly extraordinary playful element. Irony, the charm of linguistic assonances and quotations, and the uninhibited use of materials are elements that have defined the unmistakable and unique style of Mondino’s poetics.
For the theme of bullfighting too, Mondino chose an ancient medium: ceramics. The exhibition will feature a selection of azulejos – small ceramic tiles painted in blue or red – which form pictures of various sizes, produced at the Bottega d’Arte Ceramica Gatti in Faenza. They depict scenes and protagonists of bullfighting, the moves, the turns, and the symbols of the ganaderías. This previously unseen series was conceived in 2000 and completed shortly before the artist’s death, and is being exhibited to the public for the first time.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue, edited by Claudia Casali, featuring all one hundred ceramic works; for the first time, the famous Diccionario taurino will be published, containing Mondino’s personal thoughts and comments on the world of bullfighting. A limited edition of one hundred copies will include a ceramic tile, following the artist’s original design.
The exhibition, organised in collaboration with the Aldo Mondino Archive, runs until 30 April and is open daily, Monday to Saturday from 10am to 12.30pm and from 4pm to 7.30pm. Sundays by appointment only.
Aldo Mondino – Tauromachia
Opere correlate
Nessuna opera correlata trovata