Flavio De Marco's 'Autobiografia' at Castello Carlo V in Lecce

Flavio De Marco (born 1975 in Lecce, based in Berlin) presents 'Autobiografia', a comprehensive retrospective at Castello Carlo V in Lecce, curated by Lorenzo Madaro and Brizia Minerva. The exhibition features works from 1993 to 2015, reworked for the occasion, exploring the contrast between classical landscape painting of Puglia and virtual landscapes. De Marco's paintings juxtapose bucolic, hyperpolychrome landscapes with empty gray desktop screens, critiquing hyperreality and the loss of authentic experience in the digital age, referencing Baudrillard's 'society of the simulacrum'. His work also engages with art historical stylistic variations and includes collaborations with poet Domenico Brancale, writer Paolo Nori, and musician Theo Teardo. The retrospective marks De Marco's return to his homeland, with Madaro noting that his landscapes are rooted in the painting tradition of Terra d'Otranto, referencing artists like Giuseppe Casciaro, Vincenzo Ciardo, and Edoardo De Candia, before later influences such as Courbet, Seurat, and Hockney.