Oct 21st through Nov 30th, 2010.
Italian artist Andrea Sampaolo announces his first American exhibition, “I am American: so I am contemporary”, in Miami on October 21, 2010, which will debut at luxury Italian retailer Poltrona Frau’s Miami showroom in the design district. The highly anticipated presentation introduces the multimedia artist’s unique style and process—informed by an ongoing, fluid dialogue with the fine art, fashion, design, communications, musical and technological arenas—to a brand new audience, and will incorporate a live art performance, during which Sampaolo will paint while accompanied by a three-piece orchestra. Thirty-two pieces of his art will then hang in the luxury showroom for six weeks. The opening reception will take place October 21st from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with a live art performance by the artist and a three-piece orchestra.
Most of the “I am American” featured paintings are part of the “Free Zone” series, which Sampaolo describes as the ultimate marriage of interiority and expression, symbolizing the delicate balance of a life lived both in the larger world and dedicated to artistic practice. “Free Zone” represents a major transition for the artist; his paintings become transparent screens that welcome both the serene and the torn, the fragile and the impetuous—culminating in the overall harmony of the artist’s world.
While Sampaolo is known for collaborations with leading brands around the globe, the American art scene in particular has strong historical significance to him: his paintings derive directly from the American avant-garde aesthetic of the 1950s—with its anarchistic, innovative furor—through the sequential Pop Art, Action Painting and American Graffiti movements. The declaration of the show’s very title—“I am American: so I am Contemporary”—points to the artist’s search for self and place throughout the country’s ongoing transfiguration.
For Sampaolo, the very act of painting is powerful; he perceives it as an expression of a moving body that leaves an indelible sign. However, the language of the painting is only one part of his creative process. For this “Roman” artist, art is a constant exercise in negotiation. While the relationship between color and image is central to his oeuvre, his work is enriched by an open dialogue with a variety of creative, modern spheres—fashion, design, technology, and more—and the quest for the convergence of painting and new languages. The technological revolution, mass communications, and even the affirmation of the consumer society appear to Sampaolo as creative opportunities. “Just remain alert, and, above all, independent,” he says, for one must “learn the rules of the game to win their full respect.”
Italian-born artist Andrea Sampaolo began his artistic career as a painter, but quickly expanded his media approach to include visual installations and performance, as well as design and communications investigation. His eclectic palette has led to collaborations with some of the world’s leading brands, including a limited-edition phone design for NOKIA mobile and a live performance art piece for Benetton. Notable multiform projects include combined music and live painting experimentations at the Teatro di Roma, the Ulysses Theatre A.C.E.A. of Rome and the castle of Palombara Sabina, as well as a partnership with saxophonist and composer Javier Girotto.
Sampaolo’s work embraces and responds to the dynamic nature of both the artistic and larger contemporary world. Incorporating elements of the fine art, fashion, design, animation, communications, musical and technological arenas, he finds particular inspiration in the Italian underground music scene. He has earned both the diploma of Maestro d’Arte and a Graphic Advertising diploma and directed multiple video productions. In 1999, he was selected to represent Italy in an Italy-Egypt cultural exchange in Luxor, Egypt sponsored by the Academy of Rome and UNESCO. In 2000, he opened an art gallery in Rome and founded GRIT, a creative communications company. Sampaolo was the only Italian artist selected to participate in the 2009 International Biennale of Art in Lithuania.
Poltrona Frau Showroom
10 NE 39th St.
Miami, FL 33137
305.576.3636
www.frauatlantica.net
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