Mario Ceroli's solo exhibition in Milan, including sculptures and wall-mounted works in wood

From February 20 to April 6, 2024, Cardi Gallery in Milan is hosting a solo exhibition by Mario Ceroli (Castel Frentano, Chieti, Italy, 1938) entitled La meraviglia. A selection of sixteen works, many of them rarely presented to the public, will be on display for the occasion, tracing his artistic practice, focusing in particular on the production of the 1970s and 1980s. On display are eight monumental sculptures from the series Platonic Discourses on Geometry and eight paintings of matter, which are intended to draw a synthesis of the artist’s production strongly characterized by woodworking and a strong tension towards the reinterpretation of classical iconography from a contemporary perspective. The objective of the exhibition is in fact to offer the public a glimpse into Mario Ceroli’s rich artistic activity, ranging from sculptural research to the working of wall-mounted works.

The ground floor will be reserved for the eight impressive works of the series Platonic Discourses on Geometry, each of which was created by the artist between 1985 and 1990 in Russian pine wood and up to 3 meters high.

The protagonist of the series is the figure of the giant, depicted in the act of carrying the burden of a selection of imposing geometric figures in which the artist traces a direct reference to the Platonic plane of ideas mentioned in the title. The classical reference model for the cycle is the myth of Atlas, the titan punished by the gods and forced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Drawing inspiration from traditional iconography, Mario Ceroli depicts his giants in poses that convey a sense of suffering and fatigue, while translating their muscles and bodies into modular forms that recall the cubes, cones, prisms and pyramids they are condemned to carry.

On the upper floor will be placed the paintings of matter, to which the artist has devoted himself since the late 1970s. The shapes and colors of wood, often unworked, are the protagonists of works such as La Foresta Analoga, Pier Delle Vigne, Prova d’Orchestra and Inferno, which combine shrubs, trunks and twigs in the construction of geometric silhouettes that elude the two-dimensionality of the painting.

Mario Ceroli embraces the lesson of artists such as Giulio Paolini, Jannis Kounellis or Claudio Parmiggiani, yet maintains his own stylistic autonomy, amplified in terms of dramatic and monumental power.

Mario Ceroli's solo exhibition in Milan, including sculptures and wall-mounted works in wood

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