Marco Bongiorni: Painting, Drawing, and Boxing as Creative Resistance

Marco Bongiorni (b. 1981, Garbagnate Milanese) lives and works in Milan. His practice spans drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation, often exploring the limits of these media through analogies with boxing. Bongiorni developed 'Drawing as Fighting,' a series of drawing exercises inspired by boxing training, which he presented at Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2016 and continues to develop into a manual. His work emphasizes process, stratification, and the physicality of materials, using self-made optical impediments (magnifying lenses, VR goggles, mirrors) to disrupt habitual ways of seeing. Notable exhibitions include solo shows 'Kangal' at Galleria SIX, Milan (2017) and 'Epitome/Head/Fear' at Fondazione Rivoli2, Milan (2014). In 'Kangal,' he presented 'Still Life President For Life,' a series of nine still lifes juxtaposed with images of dictators, exploring themes of time, mortality, and political power. Bongiorni cites influences such as Claudio Olivieri (for whom he worked as an assistant), Neo Rauch, Victor Man, Arshile Gorky, and Walter Sickert. He advocates for the relevance of painting today as a form of resistance and calls for more acquisitions of Italian contemporary painting.