Amici di Gabriele Mattera

The Association "Amici di Gabriele Mattera" (Friends of Gabriele Mattera) is pleased to present again for the year 2023 Ri-Tratti (Por-Traits) by Giuseppe Maraniello, curated by Giorgio Brandi, with the patronage of the Circolo G. Sadoul, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Aragonese Castle of Ischia.

Neapolitan sculptor transplanted to Milan, internationally known and appreciated, Giuseppe Maraniello has an ancient and deep bond with the island of Ischia. As early as spring 2004, a large anthological exhibition at the Torre di Guevara celebrated his long and multifaceted artistic journey and it was a favourable opportunity to consolidate his friendship with the island and the people of Ischia. At that time, Giorgio Brandi, a collector from Ischia and curator of the exhibitions at the Torre di Guevara, fell in love with those poetic works and became a close friend of Maraniello's; since then, he has always worked to ensure that the Neapolitan artist's relationship with Ischia was not simply episodic.

The Ri-Tratti (Por-Traits) are huge heads that seem to have been moulded by nature, in which seemingly slender bronze forges frame wide gaps, suggesting features only hinted at by thin, gnarled branches, unexpectedly fragile and resistant at the same time. The artwork is simultaneously pictorial and statuesque. Drawings, like fantastic scribbles, that magically become solid forms. The exhibition is an artist's gift to a place that is deeply loved: the adopted and favourite son of this part of the land that has emerged intends to reciprocate the trust and affection received from the island of Ischia - symbolically represented by the Aragonese Castle and by the Association "Amici di Gabriele Mattera" (Friends of Gabriele Mattera) specifically, in a not at all obvious synecdoche that recognises the work stubbornly carried out over the decades to defend, disseminate and promote culture first by Gabriele Mattera himself and then by his heirs - with an original, indelible and lasting presence that will become part of our permanent collection, which is always visible to the public when visiting the Aragonese Castle.

L’esposizione è poi completata da piccole sculture e da tecniche miste (gli “Scherzi”) che raccontano un mondo fantastico fatto di creature nascoste e indefinite sempre in equilibrio precario e mobile, in un gioco perfetto di vuoto e di pieno, di materia e astrazione, di colori primari e forme suggerite.

Il pensiero di essere custodi e potere mostrare uno di questi Ri-Tratti alle migliaia di visitatori che ogni anno passeranno al Castello ci onora. L’opera andrà ad affiancare quelle donateci da altri artisti che hanno saputo leggere e capire a fondo questo luogo e ciò che esso rappresenta: una collezione ideale che è un asincrono omaggio alla lungimiranza di nostro padre Gabriele il quale, già 40 anni fa, seppe vedere un nuovo futuro per il Castello; non più “solo” testimonianza di un celebre e glorioso passato ma punto di riferimento importante per l’arte contemporanea oggi e, ci auguriamo, per sempre.

Anna Cristina Mattera

Amici di Gabriele Mattera

(Photos: © Marco Albanelli - Amici di Gabriele Mattera)