 
The spectacular, meticulous collages of Francesco Mino reflect the Italian artist and former textile designer’s optimism. Growing up in his hometown Biella’s fashion industry in the decades following World War II, Mino witnessed an era of unprecedented change, development and improvement in the quality of life, political and cultural activity of Italy. His collage and acrylic compositions – veritable cascades of cutout images, patterns and letters against backdrops of painted monochrome – bear the traces of that period’s hopefulness and ambition.
Many works, in fact, feature backgrounds of brick, turning these collages into representations of postered walls on the streets of modernizing Italy, public artworks where Mino first encountered the American dream imagery of Hollywood. He pastes Modern art, contemporary pop culture, magazine headlines and illustrations alongside vintage advertisements and movie posters. The effect evokes the stream-of-consciousness, cultural kaleidoscope exercises of Dadaism and Surrealism. Thankfully, organizing his collages according to color, shape and texture rather than thematically, Mino reaches a balance that is neither nostalgic nor pessimistic.
The Odyssey Within
Reception:
Thursday December 17, 2009 6-8 PM
Exhibition Dates:
12/15/2009 - 1/5/2010
Invitation to
Francesco Mino's exhibition
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La Finestra
Collage and Acrylic on Wood
37" x 24" x 3""
$4200
La Finestra
Collage and Acrylic on Wood
37" x 24" x 3""
$4200
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Miti Che Non Tramontano
Collage and Acrylic on Wood
37" x 24" x 3""
$4200
Miti Che Non Tramontano
Collage and Acrylic on Wood
37" x 24" x 3""
$4200
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