Maurizio Bentivegna
Boxes and Dolls
Against an undefined space, boxes, puppets and dolls entangle, grovel, and contort, indistinct and undetermined replicas in a melee without meaning, desperately searching for a way to occupy space, create context from chaos, escape the contingent destiny of inanimation and be given the liberty to move, to think, to live. This theme pervades the art of Maurizio Bentivegna, unique artist, imagining worlds constructed of apparently lifeless puppets, where it is possible to notice flashes of irony, glimpses of light. His vast, imposing works transfix the beholder, projecting them into a bizarre absurdist theatre where, rather than seats and Ionesco's naive characters, beloved artifacts of our childhood appear as if by magic, accumulating and regenerating without end.
"With my Boxes series as a flux, sometimes empty, sometimes full I invade the space and play with it. Manipulating these objects without life or intrinsic meaning apparently, almost pure geometric forms but in reality full of metaphors. The layers of life are similes for my art" (Maurizio Bentivegna).
Marionettes and dolls resurface from memories past, at times appearing scattered and alone, at times caught in a shaming moment, robbed of the possibility of balance; or rather, they remain victims of mechanical motion, governed by the strings that support them. We see ourselves reflected in the works of Maurizio Bentivegna, protagonists in an often depersonalizing society; ironic portraits - sometimes merciless - of the contemporary human comedy. In this absurdity, he finds a way to escape this homogenization and discover the sparks of individuality.
"My work explores the relationships between forms and space both empty and full, incorporating figuration, realism, and abstraction. I am interested in a visual dichotomy of dramatic and tranquil imagery venturing slightly into social criticism at times but always returning to investigate life and space" (Maurizio Bentivegna).
Maurizio Bentivegna, of Sicilian origin, was born in Domodossola (VB) in 1969. He graduated in Decoration at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence; where he lives and works as a painter and teacher of art. He exhibited many times before, in Pisa and Firenze, Italy, London, Haverhill and Rockland, USA.
Maurizio Bentivegna, Rosso
The exhibition is from April 14 till May 17