Michele Tocca's 'Repoussoir' at GAM Torino Bridges 19th-Century and Contemporary Painting

Michele Tocca's exhibition 'Repoussoir' at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna (GAM) in Turin is more than a solo show; it is a critical reflection on painting's history and methodology. Following the museum's acquisition of a substantial group of his works, Tocca curated a dialogue with 19th-century paintings from GAM's collection, selecting works by Giovanni Battista De Gubernatis, Antonio Fontanesi, Massimo D'Azeglio, and Giovanni Battista Carpanetto from the museum's storage. The exhibition is structured on two visual levels: Tocca's paintings are displayed at eye level on walls painted with a violet band, while the historical works hang above. The title 'Repoussoir' refers to an object that obstructs and directs the gaze, exemplified in Tocca's works such as 'La giacca da pioggia del pittore' (2020), 'Cantiere–corda' (2021), 'Pelle fiore' (2022), and 'Vapore intorno alle 9' (2022). The show is accompanied by a book published by Corraini, featuring a text by curator Elena Volpato titled 'A fior di pelle', along with Tocca's own observations on the historical pieces. Tocca aims to inherit indications from art history to maintain what painter and critic Fairfield Porter called the 'first-timeness' of vision, operating on dual registers of visual immediacy and historical reconnaissance. The exhibition runs at GAM Torino.