IAGA Contemporary Art is glad to present the first solo exhibition signed by Francesco Fossati (1985, Carate Brianza, Italy) in the spaces of the gallery, with the title Eight Autumns. Quoting Camilla Remondina, the curator of the exhibition, that of Fossati: “It is a delicate work, it does not need to shout to convey to the viewer the urgency it wants to express. His constant research and approach to the topic of sustainability clearly shows how far his interest goes beyond current trends – although the historical moment obviously reflects it – and how sincere and deeply felt his attention is. His work reminds us that contemporary art will have to increasingly take environmental issues into account, including through materials and techniques.”

With these words, in October 2022, the curator of the exhibition described what emerged from the work Replica [Castagno] (2021) by Francesco Fossati, exhibited among the finalists of the thirteenth edition of the Combat Prize. These distinctive features convinced us to confirm, even once seen live at the Giovanni Fattori Museum in Livorno, the choice of the work and therefore of the artist to whom IAGA Contemporary Art was going to award the Galleria Prize. The prize consisted of a personal exhibition and that is why, more than a year after the awarding of the prize, we are happy to present the exhibition of Francesco Fossati: Eight Autumns in the spaces of IAGA Contemporary Art.

The project is intended to be a moment of synthesis and repayment of the Organic Pictures cycle, started eight years ago, of which the work proposed for the 2022 Combat Prize is a part. These are works on canvas made with the ecoprint technique: through a boiling process, the plant element – be it a leaf, a root, a vegetable or a berry – releases its pigments so that it permanently impresses on the canvas its shape, strings and details, sometimes decisively, sometimes more nuanced and evanescent. The organic material, therefore, is not used by the artist as a kind of stamp on which to apply colour, but becomes the only pictorial support.

The result is a series of compositions with mostly symmetrical patterns, obtained from the folds of the fabric required for immersion in water during the printing process, and geometric abstractions only apparently in contrast to the harmonious shapes of Nature: this coexistence, in fact, ideally embodies the proportions, the balance of the golden section that regulates all elements.

In Fossati’s work, ecological printing is not only limited to the way of execution, but also reflects this principle in the choice of organic fabric substrates, such as cotton and linen, including when the raw material is chosen, so as not to break its life cycle. In fact, the elements used are exclusively harvested almost before drying, sometimes even from the ground, in order to preserve the sap that is still inside them. In addition, they come from the careful organic cultivation pursued by the artist himself or from the streets and abandoned places of the city, where he makes trips in search of edible and spontaneous plants that manage to grow despite the excessive concreting made by man and symbolize the Nature that finds, reclaims its space.

While the food industry increasingly pursues a seasonal adjustment of products, especially of the plant origin products, Fossati, on the other hand, aims for a seasonality of art, respecting and being guided by natural cycles, reason for which some works can only be produced at certain times of the year. Thus, he reminds us of the times, not long ago, when the climate, the seasons and the alternation of day and night were what marked the lives of men. Following this path in his artistic research and not only, due to his sensitivity, the artist has chosen to position himself as a grateful guest in relation to Nature, and in every detail he always reconfirms the coherence and sincere involvement in environmental issues, for example through the skill to supply his workshop with sustainable energy sources.

Curated by Camilla Remondina

An exhibition realized by IAGA Contemporary Art

Exhibition venue
IAGA Contemporary Art, Strada Cloşca 9-11, Cluj-Napoca, RO

Visiting hours
Tuesday –Saturday 2:00-6:00 pm, and by appointment

Period
December 14, 2023 – January 20, 2024

Opening
Thursday 14 December, 2023, at 6:00 pm

PRESS RELEASE