While a lot of Italian art in the past seems inextricably linked with Catholicism, the themes of Italian Factory owe more to globalization, the environment, contemporary culture and experimentation. For instance, Alessandro Busci's Central Rosso is a blaze of enamel on iron and incorporates rust to emphasize the industrial nature of his landscape painting.
The sublime natural landscapes of Enrico Lombardi are almost primitive in their simplicity, but have a 21st-century feel because of their palette, composition and aesthetic. The same conceit is seen in the works of Mauro Reggio and Marco Petrus, who appear to borrow from the futurist school but have brought it up to date.
For the director of TFAM Huang Tsai-lang (黃才郎), Italian Factory "creates a bridge between the modern and contemporary to present new creative ideas and authentic artistic styles." He said he hoped local artists would be inspired by the transformations of reality into art that the new Italian school had achieved.
There is little doubt that Italian Factory represents fine artists following in a great Italian tradition. Thankfully, there was just one Madonna on show, in Scarpella's ironic Baby China. Any more and you would have to wonder if Italian art had indeed moved on.
There were just two unanswered questions at the end. Firstly, where were the women artists?
Secondly, does creating a brand make the art new or different? The answer here is that it does if the art works for the audience. Time will tell if Italian Factory truly represents a significant addition to the unrivaled canon of Italian art.
RSS