Latest news with #MassimoDeCarlo
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
The dazzling legacy of iconoclastic jewelry designer Attilio Codognato
Everything remained as it was: the Empire-style furniture, the silver objects, the Renaissance bronzes, the rococo chandeliers, the velvet armchairs. On the walls, male nudes by Gilbert & George, the eccentric British artist duo, hung alongside the iconic 1999 portrait of Italian gallerist Massimo De Carlo, bound in silver duct tape and displayed like a painting by his fellow compatriot and artist Maurizio Cattelan. On a sunny February morning, the tall windows overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice were opened. Though cold and immense, the apartment inside the palazzo had not changed since November 2023, when its owner – Italian collector, exhibition curator and jeweler Attilio Codognato – died at the age of 85. "It's as if he just stepped out to buy cigarettes," his son Mario said, standing before the disorderly, stacked art books devoted to Michelangelo, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons… The Codognato name is well-known to insiders for its baroque jewelry crafted from gold and precious stones. In the ballroom of the family apartment, a cardboard triptych from the 1970s by Robert Rauschenberg stood beside felt-plate sculptures by Robert Morris – and even an ordinary broom, displayed next to its 1965 photographic reproduction by Joseph Kosuth. After spending long hours exploring the Biennale, Attilio was introduced to art through the American visual artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, he always returned to the French artist Marcel Duchamp. In the reading room, an entire wall is dedicated to his works: sketches of urinals and handwritten letters to André Breton. The day he took his daughter, Cristina, to the Louvre for the first time, she was left speechless in front of the Mona Lisa: "But Dad, where is her mustache?"
South China Morning Post
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How this artist transforms historical Chinese symbolism into paintings
Impulse purchases can cause regret, but for Dominique Fung, that's far from the case. An accidental click of the mouse at an online Sotheby's sale led the artist to acquire a Qing dynasty silk embroidered carpet that now serves as an integral component of her most recent exhibition, 'Beneath the Golden Canopy', at Hong Kong's Massimo de Carlo gallery. Dominique Fung's works showcased at her most recent exhibition, 'Beneath the Golden Canopy'. Photo: Jocelyn Tam Initial panic at her purchase eventually transformed into satisfaction. 'I just bought a Qing dynasty carpet. How insane is that?' says Fung, recalling the shock she felt when the auction house declared hers the winning bid. 'I've never bought anything at auction, but I remember seeing it and I think it was meant to be.' Advertisement At Massimo de Carlo's Tai Kwun space, the carpet is placed on a slightly elevated platform. Tones of crimson and amber dominate. 'They said it was at the Summer Palace, and Empress Dowager Cixi could have possibly walked on it,' Fung says with excitement. The protagonist of Fung's new body of work, Cixi was a controversial historical figure. She joined the Qing dynasty court as one of the emperor's concubines and was known to rule the imperial kingdom from behind the scenes after the emperor died, leaving their young son the heir to his kingdom. While invoking Cixi's past, the artist revisits her own history. Of Shanghainese and Hong Kong heritage, Fung was raised in Canada and is based in New York. Her evocative paintings are filled with symbolism from Chinese history and folklore as she reinvents narratives of figures once fetishised in the West. Her work highlights overlooked themes and characters, particularly female ones. A wooden box sits on the Qing dynasty carpet that Dominique Fung bought at an auction. Photo: Jocelyn Tam 'Cixi ruled from behind what was known as the yellow curtain, and that's what the yellow tones of this painting refer to,' Fung says, gesturing towards Yellow Silk Screen (2025), one of the large-scale canvases installed in the gallery's first room. The work is a diptych, one half bears a warm amber tone and depicts a seated body dressed in elaborate garb (referencing Cixi) underneath an expansive tent, while the right half has a cooler green overtone, and features fish (a motif Fung often employs) emerging from the tent, perhaps to enact the empress' orders and do her bidding. Alluding to the inner and outer worlds – of Cixi, the Forbidden City and the artist's own – Fung questions what is and isn't visible. Describe your work in three words Amber, excavation, collage. What intrigues you about Cixi? Her story is really that of ours. It's the things we still have to do, as women, to secure a place in the world or to secure power, and how we work in established systems. Her father loved politics and raised her with an understanding of politics, and she could read and write, which was rare for a woman. Because the emperor didn't want to discuss politics with her when she entered the court, she had to make herself smaller to survive in the system, until eventually she ended up ruling. Installation shot of Dominique Fung's solo exhibition. Photo: courtesy Massimo de Carlo Tell us about the carpet and the wooden boxes sitting atop it The carpet is a literal tie to that time – we're now in the physical realm of the 1850s. Wooden jewellery boxes were often given as wedding gifts, as denoted by the 'double happiness' characters emblazoned on some of them. They hold smaller paintings that are seductive and luxurious. They're all from eBay, Etsy and Craigslist, some are antique while others are contemporary. This could be her (Cixi's) living room. This could be her dining room where she threw many banquets. Banquet Menu II (2025) depicts a lavish banquet with all sorts of delicacies spread across three layered tables. Candles pierce the tables, with small arms and hands holding them up, representing the various layers of labour it takes to stage this elaborate feast. It's also similar to Cixi's journey in the palace. She was at the bottom when she first came into the court and she had to climb her way to the top. Banquet Menu II (2025) by Dominique Fung. Photo: courtesy Massimo de Carlo What's your creative process like? When you look at a blank canvas, it's so difficult. You ask yourself, 'Where do I even start?' So sometimes I start with just an object. For example, these warring state fish with little feet. I started painting them because they're so silly looking. So I started from there, and then I replicated that. In that process I was thinking, 'But what if there were five of them? What if they had friends? What if they actually had feet? What if they were soldiers and warriors?' So I put feet on them and they're walking on land. Where does your interest in history, antiquities and folklore come from?
