Curated by Matteo Di Stefano
Exhibition promoted by Assessorato alla Cultura di Roma Capitale e Azienda Speciale Palaexpo
Organized by Azienda Speciale Palaexpo in collaboration with Associazione Palatina
The exhibition curated by Matteo Di Stefano traces the work of Giuseppe Salvatori (Rome, 1955) over the last thirty years.
During these three decades, the artist has favored the cycle format to avoid the dispersive fragmentation of works, whose uniqueness often lies in their close relationship with literary narrative, both classical and contemporary. Therefore, these works are always anchored to a cultural reality, but also imbued with personal experiences that transfigure the vision into singular representations.
The cycle Centuria, which gives the exhibition its title, consists of one hundred and five portraits – profiles of the various and inexhaustible figures in the artist’s life: a work in progress where floral motifs transform into faces, leading us into a territory of metaphysical enchantment suspended between the real and the fantastic.
Walking through the rooms of the pavilion, the entire course of the artist's research is visible: from the tempera and acrylic on canvas in La Gazza Ladra (1990) to the thick layers of vinyl tempera and acrylic on board in Tre costumi per Fedra (2024).
The exhibition enters into a close dialogue with the exhibition Progettare il Caos by Felice Levini, taking place at the same time in Pavilion 9b of the Mattatoio. Levini is an artist and friend with whom Salvatori has shared not only a long career, but also an artistic and poetic language. In 1978, Salvatori and Levini, along with other artists and writers from the Roman scene, founded the group of Sant'Agata de' Goti. Later, Renato Barilli included them in the artistic movement Nuovi-Nuovi, during an exhibition at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Bologna in the spring of 1980. A bond that has endured over time, from the early years of the Seventies to the sharing of more recent projects, such as the Realia exhibition cycle at the La Nuova Pesa gallery, and continuing with the current exhibitions at the Mattatoio in Rome.
The exhibition of Giuseppe Salvatori will be accompanied by a catalog published by Silvana Editoriale, curated by Matteo Di Stefano, with a critical text by Giuseppe Appella and contributions from authors close to the artist, including Edoardo Albinati, Arnaldo Colasanti, Claudio Damiani, and Alice Rubbini.