Exhibition of drawings and paintings by Antonio Lo Presti and Mario Lovi

I first saw Antonio Lo Presti’s work when he visited the gallery during preparations for the show Oh!Nirica, scheduled for September, 2011. My show Radura (The Clearing), which inaugurated OTTO’s existence, and Megalopoli, the story of Agneta Holst’s collection, between art and design, were monographic exhibitions that filled the gallery since March. What Olivia and I were thinking about for the summer months was a fresh, varied exhibition. We wanted to present work by other artists as well as a retrospective of my work, especially on paper, studies and reflections in a variety of techniques: watercolor, pencils, graphite, charcoal, oil, gouache, lithography, etc. A chance to further acquaint the public with the work of the gallery’s art director. Pieces chosen by Olivia during her meanderings through my studio. We wanted to include Antonio’s work because of its freshness, delicacy and refinement, which feels close to me, but also somehow distant. His work has a forceful poetic intensity, which can be read in the traces left by the holes his lines punch in the white paper. We felt strongly that the Carte Estive show should introduce the work of an artist who will be among the protagonists of the Oh!Nirica show and of OTTO’s future activities.

Mauro Lovi, summer 2011