Giants

Kou Gallery presents “Giants,” a solo exhibition by Giulia Di Pasquale, on the occasion of which it was decided to focus on the “Corpo a corpo” series, a constantly evolving research, the result of a work of layering and sedimentation of matter, which the artist has been undertaking since her early academic years.

The gallery has been transformed into an enchanting cave, in which a number of creatures, the “Giants,” stand out on large-format canvases, whose most poetic origins one likes to imagine, the one provided by the controversial biblical character Enoch, who described them as the seven sons of those rebellious angels who disrupted the harmony and monotony of humanity with the introduction of technology.

Di Pasquale's works are true creatures, massive and imposing in size, which come to life without any foresight. Each creation develops impulsively and spontaneously, an immediate reaction reflected in their unordinary dimensions. These works, free of any constraint, seem to move as if they were autonomous entities that reject any attempt to be pigeonholed while at the same time expressing a powerful interiority. Each canvas, while being the physical container of the works, is merely a support for an expression that unfolds according to its own course, as if each Giant has an inherent awareness of the irregular space it needs to fully exist.

The series encompasses a large portion of time; it was called “Body to Body” by the artist, as he interpreted it as an intense struggle between his body and those bodies that, months or years apart, took shape before his eyes. Sometimes they were retouched according to stylistic change, but only when both the artist and the giant forced themselves to surrender was the work's conclusion sanctioned. The long span of time and constant attention to stylistic progress allows us to observe the evolution of technique and subject in this exhibition.

The first Giant is the only one made entirely in acrylic; it depicts a sleeping figure taking on the appearance of a mountain, as if to recall the famous passage from the Gigantomachia, the narrative of the battle fought against the gods by the giants, who in order to reach the summit of Olympus lifted, thanks to their superhuman strength, and superimposed mountains one on top of the other.

The color scene is dominated by the color magenta, that color akin to pink that by society is associated with the female figure and, by reflex, with a concept of weakness, but which the artist wanted to subvert, recognizing in it a vitalizing and powerful energy.

The second Giant has evolved, representing an upright figure absorbed in her thoughts.

The subject is shown more figurative and defined, it is done in oil and acrylic and this time the predominant color is that of clay, as if the giant had been definitively molded.

In the next Giants, it is bewitching to see how their posture has ceased to be static, the third ventures a few timid steps and the fourth instead hastens his pace in a rush, perhaps an escape, from the reality of which he has become aware.

The last work was completed just for the exhibition at Kou Gallery and, unexpectedly, takes us back to the starting point: sleep. Indeed, it relates back to the theme of the sleeper by drawing inspiration from Maderno's figure of Saint Cecilia.

Then there are two canvases in the exhibition, shown for the first time undraped and therefore visible in their full extent. They are the result of a long work of folding and deforming the material, leading to a figure born from folding in on itself, capable of emerging with delicacy, as shown by the opaque rendering of the pigment, deliberately faded to give an aura of nostalgia.

Finally, the sculptures, called “Heads,” represent what remains of the past grandeur of the Giants.

Elena Piccioni