Simone Pellegrini and François Burland Share Paper as Common Ground in Parma

The Galleria Rizomi in Parma presents a two-person exhibition featuring Swiss artist François Burland (born 1958 in Lausanne) and Italian artist Simone Pellegrini (born 1972 in Ancona), unified by their use of paper. Burland works with inexpensive packing paper, while Pellegrini prefers dusting paper and employs monotype techniques. Both artists exhibit a tendency toward repeated stylistic motifs and compositions evoking medieval horror vacui. Burland's drawings, reminiscent of Romanesque cathedral sculptures, incorporate elements of Swiss folk tradition, slogans, and social-political commentary delivered in a deliberately childlike, playful style. After a troubled adolescence, Burland was admitted to the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, aligning his work with outsider art. Pellegrini's imagery draws from cave paintings and develops into mental and cultural maps, repeating a successful formula. The exhibition highlights their shared approach to surface and symbolic subject matter.