Until 10 September 2023, Farsettiarte presents Lessico Americano (American Lexicon), a special project by Flavio Favelli in collaboration with Studio SALES by Norberto Ruggeri. The works on display share the same use of signs, images, products and objects from the past, which, as the title of the exhibition suggests, can be traced back to a possible “American lexicon”, intended as a language and imagery of seduction
by Elisabetta Kruger
Favelli’s works not only contain a trace of the history of our country but are also the expression of the artist’s personal history, in a never-ending interplay of anecdotes, memories, fascinations and obsessions.
Silver Palms, assembly of boxes.
On the left, Orange Cesar, a collage of stamps on board; on the right, Extra Black, a collage of chocolate wrappings.
The aspect of duality characterises the artist’s work on several levels, for example in the appearance that many of these works evoke. At first glance, they convey a sense of preciousness, but on closer inspection, they reveal the deliberate use of common and cheap industrial materials. They are treasure troves of curiosities, little antique markets, even if they are covered with shiny films and shiny gold and silver foils that make them look like something else.
On the left, Sky Blue, assembly of tin cans on board; on the right, Gustolungo, a collage of Brooklyn gum wrappers
But the artist’s intention is not to criticise consumer society. In these objects, he captures the desire for an El Dorado, which is revealed precisely in the imitation of the finest materials that betray the true desires of the provinces. Finally, there is art history, through a personal reinterpretation of its codes: seriality, repetition, reiteration. Favelli has nothing to do with the intentions of Pop Art, but through these mechanical gestures he recovers the game, the stillness of images completely emptied of their meaning. The use of monochrome representations, the divertissement of colour shading. The story told by the surfaces of the objects and the ideograms of the brands found in the artist’s works is inevitably marked by the influence of the American world on Italy. Flavio Favelli was born in Florence in 1967 and lives and works in Savigno (Bologna). The Farsettiarte auction house was founded in 1955 by Frediano and Franco Farsetti.
On the top, Nickel Silver, 2023 assembly of pressed ornaments. All the artworks are by Courtesy of Farsettiarte and Studio SALES by Norberto Ruggeri, Rome.
(Flavio Favelli, American lexicon – Barchemagazine.com – September 2023)
