About
COLD Is so simple, as a painting nothing more,
portrait as a daily reportage of the total numb.
The gallery space is governed by an absolute stillness. Twenty massive canvases confront the visitor, the subjects' gazes by turn impervious and lost, united only by their complete disconnect, their silent provocation. Each subject is engaged with their own story, present but detached. The dark paintings fascinate, depicting the multiple facets of youth trapped in a void, a non-place. The young faces, bored, arrogant, fragile, threatening, scared or simply indifferent, strongly affirm their genuine presence (their Da-Sein) only in the present moment as they have no tomorrows, no yesterdays - no drive, no ambition. A terrible lucidity emanates from these young people who embrace their existence with insolence. They are the children of a disenchanted world, proudly brandishing their disillusions at a distressed viewer.
The young artist investigates his own background and his search draws the viewer in, shakes them, screams at them with huge dimensions and demanding subjects. The large-scale works scream with rage, the figures stare intensely, and these passions extend into the artist's strong interest in performance painting. At these events the painting is gradually revealed from an apparently blank canvas, art emerging from the void as if by magic.
Born in Italy, Guglielmo Alfarone has participated in national and international exhibitions since the age of 17. Among others, his work has been displayed at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome and the Ca Pesaro Museum of Modern Art in Venice and he has taken part at the Venice Art Biennale. Furthermore, in 2008, he performed one of his «live paintings» in the gardens of the Guggenheim Museum of Venice. He has won several major Italian and European awards for his engravings and despite his young age, his works already form part of renowned public collections such as the Istanbul Museum of Graphic Arts and the Museum Foundation Cominelli in Italy, as well as appearing in the private collections of his patrons. After graduating with a MA from the Venice Academy of Fine Arts in 2008, he chose to further develop his work in London where he now lives and works.
