 |
Sandro Chia
New Paintings
April 24 - May 28, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Tony Shafrazi Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of major new paintings by Sandro Chia. In addition to a group of paintings from 1998 that were exhibited at the Frederic R. Weisman Museum of Art in California, two large recently completed paintings will be on view.
Epic in scale, the largest of the new paintings measures 22' x 12'. They depict several figures, each engaged in some activity. The figures are autobiographical fragments that make up a larger story, things familiar from Chia's life experience such as working, traveling, contemplating, etc... He is interested in the way that painting can portray the existential human condition by showing an instantaneous chronology comprised of all the events of one's life coexisting at the same time. By assembling diverse elements from different periods of time, these experimental works create a new dialogue.
In contrast, the other paintings in this exhibition are quieter images in which a single stationary figure dominates the composition. Chia's modest heroes earn their status by meeting the challenges posed by day to day existence. Titles like Mother and Restless Child, Sudden Occurence, and Sudden Birth, evoke ordinary occurrences that happen at any time in history and are common to us all. Drawing upon a range of historical styles and paying particular attention to the Italian Primitives, Picasso, Matisse and the Futurists, Chia realizes that one is never able to escape the past, that it is impossible to make art without acknowledging previous accomplishments. He is not interested in defining a new style, but in using style to reflect the wondrous complexity of human existence.
Sandro Chia was born in Florence, Italy in 1946. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, finishing in 1969 and then settled in Rome, where he began to exhibit his work. After receiving a scholarship to work in Monchengladbach, Germany where he stayed from 1980-81, he moved to New York City. His extensive exhibition history includes (solo); the Stedelijk Museum, 1983, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1984, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984, Museum Moderner Kunst Vienna, 1989, Nationalgalerie Berlin, 1992, and (group); XV Biennale, Sao Paulo, Venice Biennale, 1980, 1984, 1988, Documenta 7, Sydney Biennale, 1982, Tate Gallery, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1983, Museum of Modern Art New York, 1984, Hirshhorn Museum, 1985, and Ho Am Museum, Seoul, 1992. He now lives and works between New York, London and Montalcino, Italy.
Please contact Hiroko Onoda for further information.
New Paintings
April 24 - May 28, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Tony Shafrazi Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of major new paintings by Sandro Chia. In addition to a group of paintings from 1998 that were exhibited at the Frederic R. Weisman Museum of Art in California, two large recently completed paintings will be on view.
Epic in scale, the largest of the new paintings measures 22' x 12'. They depict several figures, each engaged in some activity. The figures are autobiographical fragments that make up a larger story, things familiar from Chia's life experience such as working, traveling, contemplating, etc... He is interested in the way that painting can portray the existential human condition by showing an instantaneous chronology comprised of all the events of one's life coexisting at the same time. By assembling diverse elements from different periods of time, these experimental works create a new dialogue.
In contrast, the other paintings in this exhibition are quieter images in which a single stationary figure dominates the composition. Chia's modest heroes earn their status by meeting the challenges posed by day to day existence. Titles like Mother and Restless Child, Sudden Occurence, and Sudden Birth, evoke ordinary occurrences that happen at any time in history and are common to us all. Drawing upon a range of historical styles and paying particular attention to the Italian Primitives, Picasso, Matisse and the Futurists, Chia realizes that one is never able to escape the past, that it is impossible to make art without acknowledging previous accomplishments. He is not interested in defining a new style, but in using style to reflect the wondrous complexity of human existence.
Sandro Chia was born in Florence, Italy in 1946. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, finishing in 1969 and then settled in Rome, where he began to exhibit his work. After receiving a scholarship to work in Monchengladbach, Germany where he stayed from 1980-81, he moved to New York City. His extensive exhibition history includes (solo); the Stedelijk Museum, 1983, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1984, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984, Museum Moderner Kunst Vienna, 1989, Nationalgalerie Berlin, 1992, and (group); XV Biennale, Sao Paulo, Venice Biennale, 1980, 1984, 1988, Documenta 7, Sydney Biennale, 1982, Tate Gallery, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1983, Museum of Modern Art New York, 1984, Hirshhorn Museum, 1985, and Ho Am Museum, Seoul, 1992. He now lives and works between New York, London and Montalcino, Italy.
Please contact Hiroko Onoda for further information.
