Marlene Dumas. Sorte

 

Organized and promoted by the Fondazione Stelline, the solo show of Marlene Dumas, one of the best known and most admired contemporary artists, presents twentytwo recent works: fifteen new paintings exhibited for the first time, alongside seven works from her recent London exhibition 'Forsaken' (2011), and fifteen historical drawings and watercolours.
Some of the artist's favourite themes are powerfully featured here: the crucifixion, famous people linked to dramatic events, "people in extreme suffering" who represent the humanity that is the focus of her painting.
The exhibition venue itself - the former orphanage and boarding school "Le Stelline" - and some sculptures from the Museo del Castello Sforzesco, including the Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini, have been a source of inspiration for the paintings, inspired by the encounter with Milan and created specifically for this event, alongside seven works from her recent series 'Forsaken' (2011).
The core of the show focuses with the figures of the mother and child. They are inspired by images from the archives of the old Stelline orphanage and portraits of Pier Paolo Pasolini, his mother Susanna, and Anna Magnani, the star of Mamma Roma.
A constant dialectic between the physical and the metaphysical pervades all the works: Marlene Dumas brings us not only icons or religious symbols, but universal signs in which faith unites with tragedy and love interacts with grief.
The film "Miss Interpreted (Marlene Dumas)", made and directed by Rudolf Evenhuis and Joost Verhey, in a version post-produced in Italian (1997, 63', MM productions, Amsterdam) is also showing at the exhibition.