Gianni Politi, Testa bastarda, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 67 x 55 in.
Gianni Politi, Roma is an aesthetic gesture, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 78.5 x 59 in.
Gianni Politi, Music for the hall of the wolf king, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 78.5 x 59 in.
Gianni Politi, La casa rosa, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 78.5 x 59 in.
Gianni Politi, The worm king, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 67 x 55 in.
Gianni Politi, Abstract painting N.261 (iteration 43 of the same idea), 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 67 x 55 in.
Gianni Politi | Testa Bastarda
September 14 – November 2, 2024
Sargent’s Daughters is pleased to present Testa Bastarda, the debut Los Angeles exhibition of acclaimed Italian artist Gianni Politi (b.1986, Rome, Italy). Based in Rome and inspired by the wealth of both classical and modern Italian art history, Politi’s work engages critically with the practice of painting as a discipline and as a medium of transmission. Including formally innovative portraits and abstract compositions, this exhibition showcases the range of Politi’s practice in recent years.
Politi refers to himself as “an artist performing the life of a painter,” meaning that the action of painting itself is as important as the final artwork. At the core of his practice is a dynamic and improvisatory studio process. Politi begins painting on the floor of his studio, creating amorphous forms on large canvas sheets with spray paint, then cutting them out and collaging them on backdrops of oil paint. Old canvases are also dismembered and reassembled in this way, producing layered compositions that could be expansive landscapes or tiny microcosms.
The exhibition’s figurative works are premised on the tradition of learning by copying the masters, which is how Politi initially taught himself to paint. In this series, Politi has produced dozens of copies of a historical painting of an elderly man, mining the image for continued interest and experimenting with colors and details.
With evocative titles that reference music, film, poetry, or daily life, Politi’s formal explorations become considerations of universal experiences – love and desire, family and friendship. His innovative practice combines art history with materials-driven exploration, producing extended series that examine the process of artmaking and the continued value of painting as a discipline.
Gianni Politi’s (b.1986, Rome, Italy) work has been exhibited extensively in Italy and internationally, including at prestigious venues such as the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, MACRO, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Palermo, and the Nomas Foundation in Rome. Politi has also shown his work in New York and Hong Kong. Recent projects include performances and exhibitions at Palazzo Barberini, Monteverdi in Siena, Fonderia Battaglia in Milan, and McNamara Art Projects in Hong Kong.
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