Maria Morganti

Chromatic Diary

25 May – 14 September 2008

curated by Chiara Bertola

Maria Morganti looks at the Museum and the Querini Stampalia Gallery.

She wrote her notes for two years - from the summer of 2006 to the autumn of 2008 - admiring some paintings at the Foundation. She “felt” the colours, and then she brought them to the canvas when she arrived at her studio. This is Maria Morganti'a rigorous and intense project, replacing five works over the doors in the rooms of the Museum with five monochromes of the same size painted in the style of the ancient works.

The final result is achieved by means of layers of colour. This technique is evident in every canvas, in which the colour is made thicker in thin strips at the edge, according to the stratification process: this is the chromatic diary, the memory of the art work. The larger part is the final result of all the steps, the accumulation of experience remains the painting's most visible aspect.

Morganti speaks about her work as follows:“I find the colour, I do not make it. I do not invent, produce or reproduce it, … I tend toward it … I hear it and see its creation. I see it materializing on the canvas”.

The appendix to this project is a series of photos taken by Morganti in her studio, showing the various evolving colour coats from the same viewpoint. Furthermore, a series of silk-screened cards, an experimental work in cooperation with Fiorenzo Fallani, shows a more chemical and contemporary use of the colour, following the experience at the Querini Stampalia.

The exhibition was organized in cooperation with Veneto Region and the support of Michela Rizzo Gallery in Venice.

Images of the exhibition

Catalogue: Maria Morganti. Chromatic Diary.

Edizioni Gli Ori, Prato, 2008