Collaborating with art consultant Sara Simonit Contemporary, Zawyeh Gallery in Dubai is holding Fragile, Handle with Care, a solo exhibition by Italian artist Giampiero Romanò. It will be open to the public until 17 September 2023.
Skilled at restoration and preservation, Romanò works with antique frames and mirrors. In his remarkable artworks, the past (old frames), the present (people’s reflections in the mirrors), and a gaze to the future, to the never seen before, are combined. For the artist, mirrors are records of their users, they preserve their memories, and the frames give the context to the history. This way, when one looks into one of Romanò’s mirrors, he/she not only sees himself/herself as an individual, but as someone who is part of an unfolding story.
Driven by the desire to break the monotony and uniformity of the classic, Romanò turns antique pieces into totally new forms. First, old frames are restored and preserved. Then, the artist fragments them, as well as mirrors, and adds cracks, generally changing the objects’ nature. After that, he reassembles them into unconventional yet elegant works, in which the viewer can feel a motion of rebellion contradicting the very material of antiquities.
About the artist
Giampiero Romanò (b. 1973) is an artist and designer based in Milan, Italy, who has not studied at any design school or arts academy. In his workshop, he honed his skills as a restorer of antiques and design pieces by himself for more than 20 years. That experience and notable hand skills let him start collaborating with Toiletpaper Magazine co-created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. As a result, Romanò produced more than 100 artworks exhibited in famous galleries around the world. Since 2019, he has been working with PLAN X Art Gallery (Milan and Capri, Italy) and since 2020, with Mucciaccia Contemporary (New York, London, Singapore, Rome and Cortina). Romanò has his own line of one-of-a-kind mirrors and furniture titled Antichità 3000. It includes unique pieces and items in limited edition that push the boundaries of traditional aesthetic norms.
Among the exhibitions having showcased Romanò’s work are INSIDE YOU (a solo show at Mucciaccia Contemporary, London, UK, 2022); a duo exhibition with Norbert Brunner (Mucciaccia Contemporary, New York, USA, 2021); 64 Years of Art in DFCI by 71 Structuralart (Dubai, UAE, 2020); Dope Baroque (PLAN X Art Gallery, Milan, 2020); Out of Line (a duo show with CB Hoyo at PLAN X Art Gallery, Milan, 2019); and others.
To learn more about the Fragile, Handle with Care show, please visit its official web page.
You might also be interested in visiting The Bloom Room by Melis Buyruk.
