Sandro Chia
New paintings at Marc Straus in New York
Sandro Chia is among the leading Italian contemporary painters of the 1980s and 1990s, his work from this period on a par with contemporaries like Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi and Mimmo Paladino. But in the early 2000s, he walked away from it all—Chia bought a vineyard in Tuscany and spent the next ten years dedicated to the winemaking business full time, only painting as his vineyard allowed. This solo show at the Marc Straus gallery is Chia’s first since then, featuring a remarkable group of new large scale paintings that look to be some of his strongest work to date.
With this new work, Chia maintains the focus and aesthetic he’s known for: He’s considered to be a core member of the Italian Transavantguadia (Beyond the Avant Garde) movement, a term coined to describe the artists who resisted the conceptualism and minimalism of the ‘60s and ‘70s, instead choosing to “move beyond” into a more painterly aesthetic favoring expressionist and figurative themes. Chia’s new paintings have now, however, shifted to a softer, more vivid palette than we saw in his earlier work and the monumentality that he’s known for has given way to a more lyrical, mythical mood. Classicism and Romanticism have always been present in Chia’s work, but now their presence brings to mind a hint of Matisse, Chagall or Modigliani, with simplified forms and a stillness we haven’t seen from him before.
About the themes of his work, in particular the animals that often appear along his heroic figures, Chia says, “In my painting, I like to leave the possibility for meaning open. I merely want to create the conditions for associate thinking. The meaning can go anywhere.” Art critic Donald Kuspit’s commentary on Chia’s painting perhaps puts it best: “Chia is the emblem of sustained individuality in an alien modern world—not only the individuality of the artist but of every person.”
This show at Marc Straus is not to be missed. And it does seem to be part of a new spark of interest in the expressionist and the painterly that is emerging in the art world of late, with several recent shows spotlighting painting of a decidedly figurative and subjective bent. We’ve collected a few highlights of the Sandro Chia show, above and below. It will be on view at Marc Straus through April 2.
