Massimo Bartolini

The work of Massimo Bartolini (b. 1962, Cecina) conjures a particular energy between the gallery space and the viewer. Using both artificial and natural materials, he creates installations of heightened sensory intensity, interweaving sounds, images and light effects. He has created evocative spaces suffused with perfume, or others distorted by elevating the floor. Landscape is a recurring theme in his work – for the artist a landscape is a space of abstraction as much as nature, a site of meditation on permanence and impermanence. During an exhibition, the artist often transforms the gallery into a metaphorical landscape, permeated by cultural and biographical elements.

Water often features in Bartolini’s work – an element that symbolises for the artist the eternal renewal of life. Bartolini’s Dew series (2013–ongoing) are delicate abstractions, often marked by a horizon, that have a calm, almost monochrome appearance. Yet a closer inspection reveals a surface that the artist has treated with an artificial dew, giving the impression that the paint might evaporate – and the artwork transform – at any moment. Over the years Bartolini has developed installations that form a controlled wave, constantly in motion in a confined space. Untitled (Wave) (2000) was exhibited at MoMA PS1 and at Documenta 13, Conveyance (2003) was part of the solo presentation Hagoromo at Centro Pecci and Conveyance (2024) was displayed at the centre of the Italian Pavilion at the 60^th Biennale di Venezia. Music is another recurring motif for the artist, manifested most ambitiously in the work Due qui (2024) for the Italian Pavilion. Taking the form of an immense organ constructed from scaffolding pipes, Bartolini collaborates with organ builders, technical experts and composers to create a unique immersive listening experience.

The artist will have a solo exhibition at Frith Street Gallery in January 2025.