Patrizio di Massimo's Intimate Worlds on View at Gió Marconi, Milan

Patrizio di Massimo (b. 1983, Jesi; lives in London) presents his first solo exhibition at Gió Marconi in Milan, titled "Amici, Nemici, Letti e Mariti (Friends, Foes, Beds and Beaus)." The show features oil paintings created over the past year, blending painting, digital photography, and performance. Di Massimo begins with staged photo shoots, digitally manipulates the images, then paints from the altered photos, constructing rather than capturing a privileged moment. The exhibition is organized into thematic rooms: the Room of Quarrels with monumental canvases expressing rage; the Room of Men exploring male identity and subverting patriarchal stereotypes; the Room of the Family offering a window into domestic intimacy; and the Room of Empty Beds, a panoramic frieze of six monochrome paintings each dominated by a bed with three pillows, inspired by the seven chakras (the seventh, magenta, is absent). The final work, "Amuleto (Coccinella Magenta)" 2024, depicts the artist with a magenta ladybug on his forehead, symbolizing the crown chakra and signaling a turn toward abstraction. The show builds on a format first tested at the Pinacoteca di Jesi in 2023, where each room explored a specific theme. Di Massimo's practice investigates identity, domestic intimacy, masculinity, and introspection, using oil painting as a meditative, analytical tool. The exhibition runs at Gió Marconi in Milan.