Coinciding with the major exhibition dedicated to the Transavantgarde at the Palazzo Reale in Milan and the monographic show at the former Foro Boario in Modena, the works of Sandro Chia are also exhibited in Bologna, at the Galleria Maggiore (via D’Azeglio 15, until 15 April 2012). Unlike the other artists of the movement theorized by Achille Bonito Oliva, Sandro Chia has always celebrated the sensuality of the body and the vitality of nature through the exuberance of monumental figures and vibrant, ringing colours.
In his works one always perceives a deep connection with the art of the past: Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, but above all Picasso, De Chirico, Van Gogh, Matisse, Chagall are the most recognisable references in his production, intertwined with moods, mythological memories, and popular narratives. With great irony and freedom, the artist feeds on ancient and modern art, outlining majestic characters and imposing figures that clash with the concept of classical harmony and beauty.
But Chia is not only a painter and a draftsman. For the first time, the ceramic works created for the exhibition “Sandro Chia. Ceramica vs Disegno 1:0,” held at the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza and produced at the Bottega Gatti, are being shown in Bologna. These ceramic pieces — both the sculptures and the majestic, baroque frames — offer a reflection on the idea of movement: movement of the hand, of the eyes, and of the material. As Chia states: “Ceramics is the feast of the surface, the surface that takes precedence over form. Ceramics establishes an ambiguous relationship with the gaze, and the eye goes on holiday. The eye, free from deciding about depth and form, whether concave or convex, rejoices.”
The works on display appear as a feast for the eyes: the gaze runs restlessly across the surface of ringing colours, reminiscent of Fontana, wanders among blues, greens, yellows, and finally rests on the drawings, seeking peace. Because, as the artist says: “Drawing and ceramics are a disturbing, explosive combination. Drawing ignores ceramics and its flaws. Drawing has eyes only for itself.” Andare oltre, the title of the exhibition, reflects this movement of stepping out of painting only to return after the “clash”: drawing, ceramics, bronze are the contenders in a competition between materials. The outcome of the encounter is 1 to 0 in favour of ceramics, yet the championship has only just begun.
