The exhibition presents a varied body of works in watercolour and mixed media. Among them are the series the artist calls Calembour: original and playful “fish” in which the title — often a pun — is an essential part of the work.

As Paola Mastrocola writes:

“[…] Words are images. Words are play.
One must know how to see in order to play, and vice versa.
I do not know whether, in Francesco’s mind, images or words come first. […] But it is clear that titles play a central role in his works — they are inseparable from the drawing. One cannot do without them: Mezze penne con le cozze, Guarda che pesce luna, Cernia lampo, Alice nel paese delle meraviglie, Totani e tabù, Elettrocefalogramma, Capa santa…
From words that play, the idea is born. […]”

The exhibition also features the Presepi laici strombolani, playful works inspired by the island of Stromboli, a place deeply loved by the artist. These small-scale pieces evoke fragments and atmospheres of the island, inviting the viewer to move closer, observe details, and travel imaginatively — at a time when physical travel was still limited.

As Faina writes:

“[…] Small portable nativity scenes, secular in this case — island scenes linked to Stromboli, which in itself is a living nativity scene. I have simply taken fragments from memory: wind turbines, the arrival of the ship at the pier, the flowing lava, the lighthouse of Strombolicchio. I recreate landscapes that are part of my life, of what I think about my life, of what happens — also within it. […]”

Francesco Faina
Mari minori
Curated by Jacopo Cenacchi
with text by Paola Mastrocola

20 February > 20 March 2021

GALLERIA STUDIO CENACCHI
Via Santo Stefano 63
40125 Bologna

OPENING HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday: 4.30–7.30 pm
Monday: by appointment
Sunday: closed