Simone D’Auria's 'My World' at Galleria Spirale in Milan

Simone D’Auria (Bergamo, 1976) presents 'My World', a solo exhibition at the newly opened Galleria Spirale in Milan, promoted with Art&Co, running from November 18, 2021 to February 26, 2022. The show features 60 works spanning the last decade of his career, including the 'Spoon' series of giant recycled plastic spoons over 150 cm tall that reference Claes Oldenburg and critique ocean pollution. From these sculptures derive paintings of 'Mr. Spoon' inserted into iconic images like Matisse's Dance and Munch's The Scream, or evoking Magritte, Banksy, Jeff Koons, and Keith Haring. A politically charged series, created with the Zoological Wildlife Foundation of Miami, highlights endangered species by placing tigers and chimpanzees alongside D’Auria's 'Tank' or 'WOW' sculptures. Other works address nature's fragility: a shark biting a globe in 'Good boy' recalls Damien Hirst's 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' and horror films, while 'Moby sbang' with reflective surfaces echoes Jeff Koons' work shown at Palazzo Strozzi. The exhibition catalogue includes a text by Milovan Farronato, who describes D’Auria's art as a pop practice that reinterprets social substratum and emphasizes the regained value of craftsmanship. Matteo Rigamonti, a musician and DJ, composed a custom soundtrack for the exhibition.