Romero Paprocki Gallery Opens Milan Space with Matisse Mesnil Solo Exhibition

Galerie Romero Paprocki has inaugurated a new exhibition venue in Milan, marking its first expansion outside France. The gallery opened its Milan location on March 12 in the Porta Venezia district at via Lazzaro Palazzi, occupying approximately 320 square meters with street-facing windows and exposed brickwork. This move follows Milan's resurgence as an international gallery destination, partly due to favorable tax policies, and coincides with the arrival of other galleries like Thaddaeus Ropac and French Place. Founded in Paris in 2020 by Guido Romero Pierini and Tristan Paprocki, the gallery initially operated as an itinerant platform before establishing a permanent Paris space in the Marais district in 2022. The gallery is known for showcasing early-to-mid career artists who create site-specific works. For its Milan debut, the gallery presents "Sutura," the first Italian solo exhibition by artist Matisse Mesnil (born 1989 in Castiglion Fiorentino), curated by Milovan Farronato and Chiara Spagnol, on view until May 9. Mesnil, who divides his practice between France and Italy and maintains a studio at POUSH in Paris, creates works directly in exhibition spaces. His practice centers on metalworking techniques including TIG and MIG welding, transforming recovered metal surfaces into iridescent linear patterns. The exhibition features large-scale works, paper pieces, and a visual diary wall installation, alongside a sound installation referencing political festival speakers from central Italy. A central piece titled "L'Abri" reinterprets Swiss designer Willy Guhl's 1960 "Niche à chien" at human scale, blending sculpture and architecture. Mesnil's work shows influences from 1960s-70s Italian art movements like Arte Povera and artists including Jannis Kounellis and Mario Merz. The gallery's Milan expansion involves organizational changes: Rossella Traverso joins as partner, while Carolin Mittermair, previously with Viasaterna, assumes leadership. This development strengthens ongoing artistic exchange between Milan and Paris, previously evident at fairs like Artissima, miart, and Artefiera Bologna.