Galleria Raffaella Cortese
March 10, 2016 – May 11, 2016
Galleria Raffaella Cortese is pleased to announce a second solo show of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.
Firmly anchored in reality – and at the same time tormented by an inner life deeply marked by tragic events – in only thirteen years of career Mendieta experimented with various media, from performance to video, from photography to drawing and sculpture.
The artistic practice of Ana Mendieta always investigated the close relationship between Art and Nature that is very intense in her work and sometimes pushed to its limit, especially in the use of the artist’s own body. In many performances, in fact, the body becomes the means by which the artist blends with Nature, in a kind of spiritual and visceral ritual that assumes a symbolic value of rebirth. As the artist repeatedly declared, culture is the memory of history and it is in this sense that the body is not just a witness, but also the vehicle of our collective memory.
Awarded the Prix de Rome for sculpture, in 1983 Mendieta moved from New York to Rome, a city that had a special place in her heart due to its connection with History. During the residency at the American Academy in Rome, Mendieta had the chance to develop her sculptural technique, using materials such as soil and wood; furthermore she intensely dedicated herself to drawing.
The exhibition focuses on the production of the Roman period, in particular on a corpus of selected ink, watercolour and pencil drawings that subsequently led to the creation of the sculptural works. The exhibition also features the book of lithographs Duetto Pietre Foglie, realized as well during her Roman residency, and a precious notebook from 1981 with some preparatory studies.
Among the main solo exhibitions by Ana Mendieta (Havana, 1948-1985): Covered in Time and History, the films of Ana Mendieta, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis (2015-2016); She got Love, Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2013); Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines and Miami Art Museum, Miami (2004); Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) Body Tracks, Neues Museum Luzern, Lucerne and Fries Museum, Leeuwarden (2002).
Ana Mendieta | via a.stradella 1
Galleria Raffaella Cortese
20129, Milano – Italy
www.galleriaraffaellacortese.com
tue sat 10-13 | 15-19.30
Courtesy of Galleria Raffaella Cortese
