To mark the major solo exhibition being staged by the MAXXI on Francesco Vezzoli, Electa is publishing a comprehensive catalog of his artistic output, from his early career up to the present day.
Nowadays, the most glamorous exponent of the contemporary Italian art scene, who has used the aesthetics of the ephemeral as one of his main sources of inspiration, is a ‘classic’. The catalog opens with a hitherto unpublished interview with the artist by Cristiana Perrella and articles by Donatien Grau and Douglas Fogle, who examine Vezzoli’s relationship with neo-Classicism and the cinema respectively. Each work is presented in an analytical way, from the conception of the idea to its definition and execution, also focusing on the reactions the works provoked and the sometimes scandalous reception they received which, in some cases, gave rise to other projects and new creations. Vezzoli uses various media to express his ideas, including the unusual use of crochet, which he uses to embroider doilies depicting his favorite film stars with gold or blood-red tears. Most of his production is expressed through Video art: his works are often short films or phantasmagorical TV productions, pilot episodes of programs that will never be broadcast on the air. Since he is fascinated by the myths of popular culture, he often depicts ‘pop icons’ or ‘pop stars’ from television or the cinema. According to Vezzoli, his aim is to “dismantle the tool of promotion”: the leitmotif of his output is a mixture of film culture and trash from TV.