The Maramotti Collection presents « Burning Green, » the first exhibition in Italy by Swiss artist Andriu Deplazes. Comprising of over thirty works, the majority of which were made specifically for the event, the exhibition explores the themes of the environment, resource exploitation and military life. It includes paintings on canvas, paper and Plexiglas, as well as a number of sculptures. Deplazes’ androgynous and diaphanous figures, often distorted and vulnerable, are placed in eerie domestic interiors or locations dominated by nature, reflecting issues of identity and social dynamics. Deplazes’ work addresses questions of man’s relationship to nature from a philosophical and anthropological perspective. The artist’s characters are a reflection on this perception of self and body, questioning the norms of voyeurism and narcissism as well as the place of wildness in society.

There are references to 19th century paintings, in particular Millet’s Angelus, Bonnard’s spaces or romantic theories on geology and landscape as dynamic bodies capable of regeneration. In the palette made of dark and orange tones and in the relationship to materiality, one also perceives the influence of northern expressionist-symbolists such as Edvard Munch. In Andriu Deplazes’ work, the use of mixed media, combining traditional oil painting with elements of collage and drawing to create more complex images, is particularly notable and efficient. 

The exhibition is complemented by a book that includes a conversation between Deplazes and Julian Denzler, as well as essays by Anna Deplazes, a researcher for the Global Change and Biodiversity research program at the University of Zurich, and Davide Ferri, an independent art critic and curator.

Andriu Deplazes 
« Burning Green »
March 19 – July 30, 2023
Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy

Disover more at collezionemaramotti.com
@collezionemaramotti

Andriu Deplazes, Two fluorescent balls, 2023, oil on canvas, 252 x 196 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich.      Ph. David Giancatarina

Andriu Deplazes, Trompetersoldat mit Piccolo und Uniform (Trumpeter soldier with piccolo and uniform), 2023, ink, watercolour and oil on paper, 69,5 x 49,5 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich.             Ph. David Giancatarina

Andriu Deplazes, Körper mit Katzen und Blumen am Tisch (Body with cats and flowers on the table), 2022,  oil on canvas, 90 x 80 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich.   Ph. David Giancatarina

Andriu Deplazes, Körper hält Säugling zwischen Kühen (Body holds baby between cows), 2023, olio su tela / oil on canvas, 209 x 309 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich     Ph. Roberto Marossi

Andriu Deplazes, Aufrechte Taube (Upright Pigeon), 2023,  acrylic on patinated bronze, 20 x 30 x 10 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich.     Ph. Roberto Marossi