Paolo Leonardo's 'Maggio' at Galleria Bagnai in Florence

Galleria Alessandro Bagnai in Florence hosts Paolo Leonardo's solo exhibition 'Maggio' until July 19. The show features two series of works on paper created between 2015 and 2017, reenacting images of 1970s proletarian struggles and student movements. Leonardo's practice involves selecting from existing documentary photography archives and painting over them to restore emotional and significant essence. The series 'Parigi, Maggio, 1968 / Torino, Maggio, 1973, via Bligny' (20 works) references the Paris student revolts, union strikes, armed clashes, and the occupation of the FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin. The somber atmosphere in each work depicts political, sociocultural, and economic power struggles. Another series, 'Atlante in attesa della rivoluzione', presents a masked male figure with bowed head, evoking mythological Atlas, waiting for a utopian new revolution. The exhibition prompts reflection on political attitudes across time.