Project XVII
Lamb arts is pleased to present The Psychology of Visual Pleasure, a group exhibition, bringing together works by artist Mattea Perrotta (b.1990 in Venice Beach, lives and works in Los Angeles) and furniture designer Mario Milana (b.1981 in Milan, Lives and works in New York).
For the exhibition, Mattea Perrotta presents a new body of abstract paintings that continues to explore her ongoing interest in the female figure and its evolution within the long art historical tradition. Perrotta's highly textured and richly pigmented colour fields celebrate the sacred feminine, while resisting the oppressive objectification of the female body. The result are landscapes that deconstruct the already established notions of beauty and pleasure in looking —both aesthetic and erotic, in order to ultimately convey a sense of spiritual awareness.
In order to challenge mainstream representations of the female body as haunted by the male gaze, the artist has included books featuring classical ideals of the place and role of the woman in art, from early Renaissance paintings to Neo-Romanticism, Modernism, Surrealism as well as 1960's pornography.
Mario Milana combining cutting-edge technology with traditional craftsmanship creates minimalist geometric furniture designs, which are both functional and stylish. His pieces are intrinsically performative as they can morph into different configurations. As endowed with the capacity to meet various needs, these objects ultimately emphasize functionality and innovation. The results are collections, or environments, in which he sensibly balances geometric and organic shapes and the union of refined aspects with those purposefully left raw; it is a style that is at once cold and mechanical, and yet deeply infused with human warmth.
Stepping back in time, the gallery space transforms itself into a mid-century modern sitting room. While the gallery's cave allows for a double maneuver installation piece incorporating the works of both practitioners, with mirrors and erotic imagery, suggesting notions of voyeurism and narcissism.