“I luoghi della polvere” by Augusto Gadea, one of the most original emerging painters on the contemporary scene, stems from his ongoing inquiry into the history of landscape through painting and the use of earth as a means to represent it today.

His practice is strongly material-based: charcoal, pastels, clay, soil and sand are central to his work. The exhibition focuses on rural territories of Uruguay and Emilia, bringing them into resonance — almost merging them — through a lyrical and vibrant representation of nature.

The earth can be observed through two opposing paradigms: order and disorder, harmony and disharmony. Paradise and apocalypse coexist around us — in fertile landscapes as well as in the devastation caused by war and human irresponsibility.

Through the contemplation of the world’s vast natural “architecture” and its disruptions, we still derive a form of aesthetic pleasure, as the cathartic force of representation lifts us from the weight of suffering. Between these extremes unfolds a wide spectrum of beauty.

The four natural elements — water, earth, air and fire — generate both terror and sublimity, existing in a fragile and unstable balance. Within this restless truth lies Gadea’s praise of the earth.

Landscape becomes nature, entering the mystery of life through perception and contemplation. The materials themselves reveal an emotional and affective foundation. These earthy landscapes resemble a troubled theology or a celestial morphology.

The earth in which Gadea’s works take form recalls a mythological dimension — a sacred space of origin. It evokes Gaia, the generative force, the clay from which humanity is shaped, linking the work to a symbolic and almost architectural vision of existence.

dal testo critico di Raffaele Milani

Augusto Gadea
I luoghi della polvere
Curated by Jacopo Cenacchi
Critical text by Raffaele Milani

3 October> 26 October 2019

GALLERIA STUDIO CENACCHI
Via Santo Stefano 63
40125 Bologna

OPENING HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday: 4:30–7:30 pm
Monday: by appointment
Sunday: closed