Umberto Giovannini. Acqua. Reports from the Mediterranean

Free entry

Internationally renowned Italian artist Umberto Giovannini is the focus of an ambitious exhibition project entitled 'Acqua. Reports from the Mediterranean', presented by the Associazione Amici dell’Atelier Calcografico (AAAC) at the Porticato of the Biblioteca Salita dei Frati in Lugano, its usual venue.

A versatile and multidisciplinary artist, Giovannini, has shown a particular fondness for woodcut ever since his early days in the field of printmaking, since the 1990s. He has always shown an appreciation of the powerful language of this technique, which enables him to create narratives that are free from embellishment and rhetoric. For his printing blocks, he prefers to use reclaimed wood with robust grain and full of knots – humble yet steeped in history.

The exhibition is divided into several sections, each with a specific meaning, and features a wide selection of works by the artist, most of which have never been shown before. These include 74 woodcuts created in the last six years, accompanied by an artist’s book.

The exhibition takes its title from a series of monochrome woodcuts collated in a wonderfully expressive travel diary. This 'xiloreportage' not only recounts places, but also discoveries and encounters during what the artist describes as an 'inglorious time of transition'. 'Water' is thus understood not only as a primary element of life, but also as a unifying motif and a means of dialogue between different places and cultures. The entire series of woodcuts is brought together in a splendid accordion-fold artist’s book, approximately 20 metres long, presented in a separate display case.

Another highlight of the exhibition is the series of five woodcuts entitled 'L'approdo' [Landfall], which includes print AAAC 127, printed by Francesco Galli in the Novazzano engraving studio for the members of the association. Several large-scale works, or 'soundscapes', created using an experimental technique developed by the artist, complement the pieces on display in the various showcases.