Chris Soal and David Schnell Debut Solo Shows at Eduardo Secci in Milan

Eduardo Secci has opened two concurrent solo exhibitions in Milan, presenting South African artist Chris Soal (b. 1994) and German painter David Schnell (b. 1971), both making their Italian solo debuts. Schnell's exhibition, curated by Pier Paolo Pancotto, is held at NOVO and features large oil paintings from 2013 to 2022 alongside works on paper. His geometric landscapes balance figuration and abstraction, with light as the central protagonist shaping painterly space. The works reduce nature and urban clusters to geometric elements, emptied of materiality, prompting reflection on order versus chaos and past versus present. Soal's show at Galleria Eduardo Secci presents sculptures made from humble materials such as toothpicks and beer bottle caps, combined with cement and industrial materials. These everyday waste objects become mysterious and laden with socio-political meaning, addressing humanity's relationship with nature and consumer excess. The works reference Italian Arte Povera through techniques like burning and cracking, exploring entropy within the artificial. The exhibitions run concurrently in Milan's two spaces.