Francesco Garbelli: Iconologie Urbane
3 Maggio 2015Nanni Valentini: “Il 1976, la pittura” (a cura di Flaminio Gualdoni)
17 Settembre 2015May 3rd – June 13rd, 2015
Opening time: Tuesday - Saturday | 2.00pm - 7.00pm
Galleria Monopoli introduces solo show of Francesco Garbelli.
The milanese artist – famous for his manipulation of road sign – creates two big works: the new sequence of
“Guerrieri Metropolitani” and “Scacchiera”. These two works underline latest development of his research.
He uses only existing elements of road sign with which the artist can create some characters – like metaphors
of contemporary urban condition. So the pawns of chessboard become a game in the game.
During the exhibition there are also two installations with which the artist involves the external space, so
Francesco Garbelli creates a relationship between exhibition’s space and the surrounding zone. The first is
about food, in correlation with Expo, and it is also like homage to the tribal people, considered as the true
guardian of the planet. The second is a matter of “poetica della toponomastica” another point of view of
Francesco Garbelli’s research; some plates of urban toponymy are applied in the gallery and they report
ironic messages. The visitors find these plates on the walls of gallery among inside and outside and they can
go out and look for them like treasure hunt … of art.
Francesco Garbelli graduated in architecture of Politecnico di Milano in 1990, he lives and works in Milan.
He was a protagonist of show-event in ex-factory “Brown Boveri” in ‘80s. Then he makes his first
interventions of public art, especially, about urban toponymy and road sign.
In ‘90s the artist is a member of “Concettualismo Ironico Italiano” and he takes part in exhibitions in
museums and galleries in Italy and in Germany.
