Patrizio Di Massimo

We are welcomed into a fantastic little theater, transported into a staging that resembles a lyrical, architectural, and surreal opera. Patrizio Di Massimo breaks conventions by merging the unreal with the real. His exploration addresses history through a constant thread: the moment of coexistence among different temporalities. The past intersects with the present, leading to a consciousness that allows him to eliminate historicity from situations, employing irony to separate reality from truth. It is not merely about past, present, and future, but rather about the potential fusion between today and a specific historical-artistic circumstance manifested through linguistic play. Ideology gives way to mythology.

Stylistic references are significant: Grosz and Dix, Carrà and De Chirico, Savinio and Casorati. In addition to the constant of painting, Patrizio Di Massimo's practice and language expand to incorporate other expressive forms such as performance and video art.

The characters are frozen in solemn theatricality while simultaneously expressing their desires. Humiliations, role-playing, sensuality, and power dynamics, along with disguises and amusements, abound. Domestic reality often manifests through curtains, oversized tassels, and stacked cushions. His subjects gain body, thickness, volume, presence, and history, as seen in works like “Shhhhh” and “The Lion Tamer,” which are part of the collection. The complexions remain pale, almost cadaverous, with forced washes of pink on their cheeks. Masks often feature thickened features, swollen bodies, prominent noses, and either wide-eyed or dreamy gazes. Breasts and buttocks defy the laws of gravity, looking upward. There is an abstention from time and space defined by a few emblematic elements: mystery, emotion, and fragility.