Artwork description:
“Peacock Wheel Pose 1” and “2” are a painting diptych that was initially constructed using a singular piece of fabric, which was later cut into two separate “canvases.”
Titled after a yoga pose, both works are a testament to Maggini’s practice of using and altering found domestic materials, such as old tablecloths, bedsheets and other domestic fabrics that he has inherited from his family. After selecting his “canvas,” Maggini paints intuitively, by folding the fabric multiple times and allowing the paint to stain each layer with naturally occurring patterns of colour.
The gesture of ripping the large fabric into smaller pieces signifies Maggini’s intention to break from tradition and create a chasm, where viewers are encouraged to contemplate the complex relationship between domesticity, patriarchal tradition, and nature, through the instinctive, naturally occurring gestures that Maggini has applied.
The exploration of culture versus nature is one of the main principles of Maggini’s work, and is indicative of his interest in queer ecologies and camp aesthetics and his background in biology and botany.
Despite the prevalence of the natural marks on the composition, Maggini has also made intentional interventions on the canvas, using his body as a starting point of one of the major figures and the length of his arm as a ruler of sorts that guides the size, movement and direction of the various elements on the paintings. This interaction between the artist and the materials used creates a dialogue that enhances Maggini’s ongoing exploration of the dynamic between nature and artifice.
This intentionality enables the viewer to empathise with the artist and with the creative process very directly, allowing anyone who looks at the brush stroke to feel the movement behind it and engage with the painting on a deeper, more instinctual level. This synesthetic process opens a portal of transformation and metamorphosis, bringing the viewer close to a natural state.
Maggini’s work also references his study of queer ecology, and it intentionally blends animal or plant behaviours with human interactions. The lack of inhibition that animals demonstrate counteracts the human tendency for self or socially imposed censorship, and it reveals their true selves beyond any externally imposed limitations. This “unveiling” is central to Maggini’s work, as he aims to reveal universal intelligences that transcend human interventions.
Kindly note that if selected, both works will be presented stretched and framed; on the attached images you can see the unstretched and unframed version.
Biography:
Alberto Maggini (b. 1983, Rome) is an Italian visual artist who recently completed his MA in Fine Art at the Chelsea College of Arts in London, UK. He holds a BA in Biology and an MA in Botany and Restoration Ecology from Sapienza University in Rome. Alberto’s ceramics, wearable sculptures, and paintings reflect his background in biology and botany and his interest in queer ecologies, mythology and the relationship between culture and nature. Selected projects include Crafting Ourselves at Ugly Duck and LGBTQ+ Courtauld (2022), Diva’s Boudoir at Deptford Does Art (London, 2021), Rally, MA Fine Art Graduate Show at Chelsea College of Art (London, 2021), Make Utopia Great Again as part of Qw’ere London at Matchstick Piehouse ( London, 2021), Why do you tear my from myself? at The Cookhouse Gallery (London, 2021), Indigenous Nature at the Chelsea College of Arts (London, 2021), Essential Constellation on Google Maps (Online, 2020) and Animism at the Salzburg Fortress (Salzburg, 2018).