Aldo Mondino Retrospective at CAMeC La Spezia

A retrospective titled 'Mondino a colori' at CAMeC (Centro Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) in La Spezia highlights Aldo Mondino's painting from his early works to his linoleum pieces. The exhibition, based on the scientific project of the Archivio Aldo Mondino, features 30 works across five rooms, offering a balanced chronological overview of the Turin-born artist's varied production. Mondino participated in the Venice Biennale in 1976 and 1993. The show opens with his large 1992 self-portrait 'Mon Dine', a homage to Jim Dine. The first room presents abstract works from around 1959, when Mondino moved to Paris, showing influences from gestural Surrealism and Tancredi. The second room displays 'quadrettature' from the early 1960s, mimicking children's school notebooks on masonite. The third room is dedicated to false engravings on canvas from the 1970s, including a 1979 Tour Eiffel piece and works depicting famous shipwrecks. The fourth room explores Judaism and Oriental themes, with three-dimensional elements in works like 'Metterci una pietra sopra' (1999). The fifth room recreates an environment with large-format works inspired by Oriental rugs, including 'Raccolto in preghiera' (1986), a 4x2 meter carpet made of grains, legumes, and flour, and 'Tappeti stesi' (1993) on eraclit panels. A notable piece is the linoleum quadriptych 'Festa araba' (1985), featuring a belly dancer and a dervish.