The program of exhibitions and events promoted by Imago Art Gallery for the winter season is particularly intense. It begins with the great exhibition “Between Dream and Reality”, curated in collaboration with The Dalì Universe in Pietrasanta and destined to attract the public and enthusiasts from all over Italy. It is not very common, in fact, to be able to admire, in Italy, the bronze sculptures of Salvador Dalì. In Pietrasanta it will be possible to appreciate, for three months, until 5 February with completely free admission, a selection of the most incredible, famous and mystical sculptures with which Dalì has reworked the themes of his painting such as the gigantic Space Elephant, over 7 meters high. , the mammoth cosmic rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Cosmique) of 4 meters, Woman Aflame (3.40 m), Space Venus (3,50 m), Surrealistic Piano (4.88 m) as well as a review of works of medium and small size such as the famous clock springs Dance of Time I and the Femme Giraffe. Figures, symbols and phobias that run after each other in all his endless artistic production that he has applied, in the course of his life, to all areas of the figurative arts. Also on display an exclusive part of the collection of crystals made for the Daum crystal house and numerous graphics. The works enhance two particular and important aspects of Dalí's creativity, which allow a deeper interpretation of the artistic work of the Catalan master: the three-dimensional sculpture and the graphic works that illustrate important literary themes. Dalí shapes the third dimension through his bronze sculptures, each representing one of his iconic surrealist images. The important collection of etchings and lithographs, the result of Dalí's passion for great works of literature, shows the public the lesser known side of Dalí as an illustrator and demonstrates how the artist was an extremely cultured man. His surrealist interpretation of literary paths ranges from classical texts, such as Bizet's interpretation of Carmen, to more modern books by contemporary writers. Mythology, religion and history stimulated Dalí to create a large number of images, characters and allegories, through which he told the stories we know. Dalí's genius is displayed so that the visitor has an educational experience and leaves the exhibition having learned something about Dalí's methods, way of working and symbolism.
In the same period (until February 11), a selection of Matteo Pugliese's works will instead be on show in Lugano, after the close of the Versiliana exhibition where it registered around 7.000 visitors. The exhibition, entitled “Spiriti ostinati”, traces the most recent creative season of the Milanese artist, through works belonging to the Extra Moenia, Custodi and Scarabei series. On the one hand, therefore, that of the Extra Moenia, men who attempt a painful rebirth through a struggle with a material-wall that imprisons them, which prevents them from living, growing, expressing themselves. They are works in bronze in which the classical matrix and the tribute to Renaissance plastic are clear but which stand out for being, at the same time, extraordinarily current and contemporary in the fragmentation of the subject into several parts and in the interaction with the wall that becomes an integral part. of the work. On the other hand, in response to the existential battle of the Extra Moenia, here are the Custodi, imposing and rounded presences inspired by the most diverse cultures made of bronze and often with terracotta inserts. They are hieratic figures with a solid and reassuring corporeality and in which weapons and armor become the metaphor of an achieved inner security. Pugliese intervenes in this series by upsetting the proportions and classic canons to define a new style: powerful and centered bodies, enormous feet, decisive faces and conscious looks. The third, more recent series is that of the Scarabei, aluminum and ceramic sculptures, the artist's tribute to his youth. The exhibition will also be an opportunity to admire some unpublished sculptures by Pugliese made of marble and blown glass. The presence of Matteo Pugliese is completed with an unprecedented presence, at the "Soglia Magica" of Malpensa Airport (until April) of a selection of works that testify to the versatility of the artist and the desire to give voice to the many inspirations .
Last but not least, the result of an outsourcing process for the gallery was the participation in the Bologna Motor Show in December, which returned in 2016 after years of absence, with a stand where works by Enrico Ghinato dedicated to the world of cars were presented, but also a new cycle of “shop windows” on the streets of the capitals of the world. Other works by Ghinato were also exhibited in the space reserved for hypercars, alongside an amazing model of the legendary Evantra car.
Finally, the opening in Lugano of a large exhibition of works by the master Rinaldo Bigi is already announced for 28 February, on the occasion of which the start of the works for the realization of the General Archive of the great Tuscan artist will be formalized.
