“Travellers” offers a visual experience starting from the theme of travel. Four imaginary and timeless motorcyclists, anonymous and therefore universal, advance in the body of large cities (New York, Hamburg, Naples, Zurich, Rotterdam) and observe their iconic architecture, dynamic compositions, impressive volumes of forms, the expressive and emotional power they are able to unleash. The colours are bright, the lines are sharp and the details are meticulous, sometimes almost photographic. A modern painting, that of Di Chiara, which fits perfectly into the contemporary artistic context.
“The works exhibited in this exhibition – says the author – are born in recent years spent in Hamburg. They are the result of some travel experiences that had struck me and that I had captured initially in photographs, then transposed into real paintings. Of course the choice of architecture is never random: I have long been interested in architectures powerful from a structural, rationalist, concrete, The emotional component that emerges in depicting these structures only apparently crude. As I have always been interested in the non-places, the spaces denied even within a very lively city context»
In “Travellers”, alongside emblematic places more easily recognizable (the Stazione Marittima in Naples, the nineteenth-century facades of the buildings, the former post office in Zurich) buildings and details of brutalist architecture stand out. A current that has spread in Europe since the 1950s, when war-wounded humanity was rising up to refound a new culture of construction: a functional, rough architecture made of raw and industrial materials, Disinterested in fashion or a certain aesthetic harmony, but pregnant with social responsibility. «A sculptural architectural form that lends itself very well to painting», admits Di Chiara who, through a realistic/ figurative style, He identifies and re-interprets geometric signs and volumes. An expressive challenge that seems to reward him with works of strong visual impact and rare sensitivity.
“Travellers” is an exhibition organized by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Lacco Ameno and inserted in the “Billboard of metropolitan events 2024/2025” of the Metropolitan City of Naples.
The author will be present at the vernissage.
Biography
Manuel Di Chiara is an internationally renowned contemporary Italian painter, known for his vibrant urban landscapes and meticulous attention to detail. Born in Ischia in 1976, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples and has exhibited his works in Europe, North America and Asia. His painting, which is oriented between neopop and an ‘industrial’ style inspired by the work of American and North European artists of the ‘900, is appreciated for its realism and deep exploration of urban environments, especially those related to the maritime world. His works, almost all made entirely of acrylic, they are part of numerous private and corporate collections around the world.
The exhibition is free – Info and times: www.pithecusae.it
Tel. 081 99 61 03
