Paolo Ventura, born in Milan in 1968, grew up with storytellers. His father was a popular author of children’s books, while his grandmother told memorable tales of living in the Italian countryside during World War II. Ventura has developed his own inventive approach to narrative, blending two forms of storytelling—one inspired by historical events and the other entirely fictive with a creative technical approach that has earned him widespread recognition.
This exhibition at Edwynn Houk gallery in New York presents his last series entitled Eclipse. Each of Ventura’s photographs involves multiple steps. The process includes building and painting simple sets, dressing and directing actors, and combining photographs of the two in a unique topographic reality. Lovers, soldiers, and jesters are some of the recurring characters, often played by family members, including his twin brother, son, wife, and himself. In this present exhibition, Ventura collages and hand-paints over every image. The resulting tableaus engage each other in dialogue, but each exists as its own imaginative world.
Ventura’s images are photographic yet appear painterly; familiar yet dream-like; historical yet modern. Even his artistic inspirations, which are as varied as surrealist painting and Neorealist cinema, find equilibrium in his work. Most importantly, Ventura’s sense of genuine curiosity is contagious. Seen collectively, the series of images loosely tells a story, as if the artist is drifting from dream to dream, enveloped in the theatrical sets of his own imagination.
Paolo Ventura, Eclipse
Edwynn Houk Gallery
745 Fifth Avenue
New York NY 10151
USA
