Deweer Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Belgium of the young Italian sculptor Luca Monterastelli. This solo show also marks the beginning of the collaboration between the artist and Deweer Gallery. Monterastelli was born in 1983 in Forlimpopoli, Italy. He works and lives in Milan, Italy. He is developing and entirely individual, contemporary, sculptural vocabulary. His sculptures often consist of vertical, vaguely anthropomorphic forms, which create formal paradoxes that encourage the viewer to explore the work from up close. According to the American art critic Rosalind Krauss, a sculpture almost inevitably refers to the human body. The work of Monterastelli supports this idea. The titles of some of the works such as Only Hairs and Bones (2013) for instance, contain allusions to the physical imagination. Despite these bodily allusions, the artist makes primarily abstract work.

Monterastelli's sculptures form an accumulation of geometric entities that each contain multiple, potential meanings. Aside from this playful formal language, his work is defined by his bold, robust choice of materials. Monterastelli clearly has a unique sense of materials and the mystery they evoke. As a spectator, one often does not know what material one is looking at. Is it cement or marble, limestone or linen? Especially for Deweer Gallery, Monterastelli created a series of impressive new works. He chose to experiment with the strong energetic force of reinforced concrete.

These new works are remarkable for another reason as well. Deweer Gallery is namely the first to present a solo exhibition of Monterastelli in which the artist explores the role of art and architecture in the urban fabric. In these sculptures, Monterastelli focuses specifically on the symbolic connotations and the influence of urban structures and art in the public space on human behavior. He also explores how a political regime, and more specifically a totalitarian authority, owes its legitimacy to the prevailing art and architecture. Monterastelli is a promising, innovative artist, precisely because of his exploration of the potential of the art of sculpture.

Luca Monterastelli has had solo exhibitions in a dozen venues; the most important include: THEN/now, exhibition with Pietro Consagra (curated by Jarrett Gregory and Pavel Pyś, MiArt, Milan, Italy (2016); The sight couldn’t be any better (with Alberto Scodro), HIAP, Helsinki, Finland (2014); White - Endlessly Rocking (curated by S. Frangi and M. Tagliafierro), viafarini DOCVA, Milan, Italy (2013); open studio, Parc Saint Léger - Centre d’art contemporain Parc Saint Léger, Pougues-les-eaux, France (2012) and Graceland (curated by Julie Rodriguez-Malti), Chez Néon - Diffuseur d’Art Contemporain, Lyon, France (2012). He also participated in numerous group exhibitions including the 56th Venice Biennale, Codice Italia (curated by V.  Trione), Padigliona Italia, Italy (2015), Ennesima (curated by Vincenzo De Bellis), La Triennale, Milan, Italy (2015) and In forma di ceramic (curated by S. Coletto and M. Zauli), Fondazione Bevilaqua la Masa, Venice, Italy (2014).

Click here for the exhibition file of the show.