Francesco Vezzoli curates 'Metafisica da Giardino' at Nahmad Projects, London

Francesco Vezzoli, born in Brescia in 1971, returns to Nahmad Projects in London with a curatorial project titled 'Metafisica da Giardino', opening September 28 and running until December 15, 2017. The gallery at 2 Cork Street, Mayfair, founded by Joseph Nahmad and Tommaso Calabro in 2016, will be transformed with painted walls referencing de Chirico's 'Piazza d'Italia', in collaboration with Cristina Perletti and Beatrice Girardi Boschetti. The display pairs Vezzoli's works with a selection of Giorgio de Chirico's paintings dated between 1920 and 1970, including 'Les philosophes Grecs' (1925), 'Gladiatori' (1928), 'Bagni Misteriosi' (1974), and 'Il Sole sul Cavalletto' (1968), from the Nahmad collection and private loans. Vezzoli presents 'Minima idea (Muso dell’Antichità)', inspired by de Chirico's metaphysical figures. The project extends Vezzoli's curatorial practice seen at Museion in Bolzano (2016) and Fondazione Prada. The gallery floor will be covered with grass, creating a garden setting. Vezzoli describes his approach as engaging dialectically or aggressively with history, acknowledging de Chirico's own engagement with cultural roots. He expresses gratitude to Nahmad Gallery for allowing him to 'play' with de Chirico's masterpieces and to de Chirico for his fidelity to metaphysical visions.