A major exhibition in Catanzaro traces the career of Omar Galliani

A major solo exhibition by Omar Galliani (Montecchio Emilia, 1954), entitled Il disegno non ha tempo (Drawing has no time): is being held at the MARCA Museum in Catanzaro from October 9 to December 31, 2021, and is curated by Vera Agosti. The phrase chosen for the title of the exhibition is intended to emphasize the eternity of drawing, a field of expression of which Omar Galliani is one of the greatest contemporary interpreters. His drawing has its roots in Renaissance drawing, but not only. Omar Galliani’s work, moreover, is not a sketch or preparatory proof, but a work in its own right, which is therefore intended to ennoble the art of drawing. For this reason, too, the author invents his “infinite” drawing, diluting the dimensions to the maximum, with pieces that become monumental.

Galliani’s art looks to ancient artists, contemporary artists such as Gino De Dominicis, Robert Longo, Troy Brauntuch, to the suggestions of fashion, cinema (Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders, Robert Altman), and the imagery and his everyday life are also contaminated by his travels around the world, particularly in Asia, with chance encounters, faces crossed in passing. The conceptual component is always present, more or less veiled. Galliani’s drawing has its own execution time, which for the artist translates into days and days, hours and hours of effort. The blood pressure modifies the sign, imprints itself on the sheet of paper or on the poplar board.

In the exhibition in Catanzaro it is possible to see large significant works of his path: from an early drawing of 1977, Dalla bocca e dal collo del foglio, to the painting of the 1980s, with important historical works, such as Cavalieri d’Ellissi, presented at the Venice Biennial in 1986, and Cadmio of the same year, up to the great Mantra per Laura of 1999. Then the rich production from the 2000s onward(Princess Lyu Ji in her fifteenth year, 2008; Omar Roma Amor, 2012; Per santa Teresa d’Ávila, 2016) and the more recent pieces(Floralia, 2019; De rerum natura, 2020), those on starry nocturnes (the triptych Nella costellazione di Orione, 2019; Siderea, 2020) and the works dedicated to pandemics(Baci rubati/Covid 2019). Also on display are two unpublished works from 2021(Chlorophelia and NGC/7419).

The exhibition’s itinerary speaks of the great themes of man: nature, life, art, pandemic, death, sanctity, all played out in particular on the candid white of the poplar board and the shimmering, mysterious black of graphite. The exhibition, sponsored by the Province of Catanzaro, MARCA Museum and Rocco Guglielmo Foundation, is realized with the contribution of Phidias Antiques. Accompanying the exhibition is a volume by Prearo Editore, edited by Vera Agosti, with a critical essay by the curator, an interview and a poem by Teodolinda Coltellaro, a member of the MARCA Museum’s scientific committee. For information and further information: www.museomarca.info, www.omargalliani.com.

Pictured: Omar Galliani, Rome Omar Amor (2012; pencil on panel + pastel, 315 x 400 cm)

A major exhibition in Catanzaro traces the career of Omar Galliani

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