Matteo Pugliese: Breath of Freedom

Bertrand Delacroix Gallery is thrilled to announce Matteo Pugliese‘s highly anticipated major solo exhibition, Breath of Freedom. The Italian sculptor is known internationally for his muscular bronze men emerging from walls in unexpected, fragmented pieces, a series the artist has named Extra Moenia (outside the walls). Pugliese’s debut US solo exhibition will present new works as well as the final pieces from several sold-out editions, saved exclusively for this show. In addition to his dramatic male nudes, the collection will include pieces from The Guardians, his ambitious bronze and terracotta warrior series, as well as small animal sculptures. Although vastly diverse in size and subject matter, his sculptures consistently return to the themes of strength, power, movement, tension and limits.
Although classical in their defined musculature, Pugliese’s powerful Extra Moenia sculptures are wholly contemporary in the contorted positions and broken up presentation. The expressive works are innovative in the relationship to their surroundings; the blank walls on which they are installed become crucial to the viewer’s visual experience. In fact, in Extra Moenia, the tension is derived from the presence of the wall itself. Is there anything better than a wall to represent the block, the circumstances that trap and repress us? The desire to break free from this constraint translates into a struggle, one visible in the faces and bodies of the sculptures, aiming to restore a positive physical and mental condition. Tackling this limit is the starting point and creates the opportunity for rebirth, for a new life, far from those compromises and frustrations that one had decided to accept for so long. In such a way, Pugliese’s Extra Moenia become not only aesthetically stunning but metaphors for life experiences.
In The Guardians, the urge to break loose from the block that we see in Extra Moenia translates into the awareness of already having been through it and coming out the other side. Battles, wars and frustrations have been left behind and only the features necessary to win those battles are visible: a strong balance, a great awareness and determination. These concepts are expressed by overturning the traditional proportions: very large and steady feet, powerful and focused bodies, determined faces and aware gazes, often with half-closed eyes – the faces are calm without fear. The figures are rounded and impressive despite their small dimensions. The Guardians are greatly inspired by the stone guardians venerated by the Balinese animists. Like the Indonesian idols standing in front of homes to ward off evil spirits, Pugliese’s figures, with grimacing and glowering faces, hold clubs and wait in a crouching position ready to spring into the fight.
Born in Milan in 1969, Pugliese developed a strong love for drawing and sculpting while living in Sardinia with his family as a child. In 2001, without any formal arts training, he rented a private space in the center of Milan where he organized and financed his first solo exhibition. Only 18 months later, he held his first “official” exhibition in a gallery in Milan, and just months later, he held another solo show in Brussels. Today, his works are on display in galleries in major cities throughout the world, such as New York City, Rome, Hong Kong, London, Brussels, Lugano and Antwerp. In 2014, Pugliese was selected to create an installation in Italy’s oldest café, Caffè Florian, in the renowned Piazza San Marco in Venice, a very prestigious honor given to just one artist per year. He currently lives and works between Milan and Barcelona and will attend the opening reception on November 5.