The exhibition “Fragments from my Past” represents paintings and sculptures – that were created by the artist in the period 1994 – 2006. Licata is most known for his paintings executed on crumpled-up canvases and on three-dimensional surfaces. These works force themselves away from flatness and the confines of a frame, directly into the viewer’s space.
Two paintings, though, on stretched canvas, introduce the bar-code symbol, which is dramatically stamped not on any object, but – with a dehumanizing effect – on the human figure itself. Am I a thing? Will we humans be the very ones to manipulate, encode, program, recycle, and clone ourselves? To cajole humanity into oblivion?
The sculpture work portrays humanity at a most fundamental level: mother and child, man and women, the quest for transcendence. The series is called Shells because whatever remains of the original human form is just the incomplete, thin outer wrapping.
Massimo Licata lives in Queens, NYC, where he has been creating art for the last forty-four years.
Regarding this exhibition Licata stated “I am extremely gratified to have been chosen for this very meaningful inaugural event at the Curtiss Jacobs Gallery.”
- The opening reception will be Thursday – October 27th, 6:30pm – 9:30pm.
- The exhibition will conclude on Sunday – December 8th with a talk by the artist.
About the Artist:
Massimo Licata is a native of Rome, Italy. His work is inspired by Henry Moore, the art of the Italian Renaissance, in particular Caravaggio. His work has been featured at a number of major galleries and prominent art fairs. Licata lives and works in Queens, New York.