Manfredi Beninati: Dicembre 2039

About

Manfredi Beninati creates lands of fantasy reinventing rarefied, dreamlike experiences, exposing fragments of personalities, and exploring ideas of journey, memory, the struggles of life and the securities of childhood.

In Dicembre 2039, his most personal work to date, five large-scale drawings hauntingly portray members of Manfredi's family; his mother, girlfriend, son, father and brother Flavio who has since tragically died. Each large-scale black and white drawing illuminates Beninati's intimate perspective on the person's life, whilst an accompanying sculpture evolves an element in the work - a chair, a tree, animals, a pastoral scene… Begun in 2003 as a long-term private project, the intricately detailed works draw inspiration from the family photo album and Beninati's memories and experiences to reveal the subjects' inner worlds and lives.

After working in film, Manfredi Beninati began making sculptures, figurative and still life paintings drawing directly on real or imaginary childhood memories. His installations appear to be deserted sets, spaces that are often inaccessible, seen only through cracks or darkened glass soliciting a sort of voyeurism, and using art, film and literary references to great emotional effect.