Page 33 - AIT0925_E-Paper

Scala, 2024
von • by Louise Giovanelli Foto: kunst-dokumentation.com
Instagram: louise___giovanelli

Curtains – once they are opened – promise entry into another

world. And when they close, they keep that promise. “The painting

remains in a state of limbo, leaving us wondering whether the

scene is already over or just beginning,” explains Louise Giovanelli

– leaving us in the dark not only about whether the event is yet to

come or already over, but also about what it actually consists of.

A stage direction that conceals more than it reveals. The curtain,

a textile privacy screen and symbol of beginning and end, stands

at the centre of the visual worlds presented here. It is part of
the stage, assertion and retreat at the same time – and in her

paintings, a fourth wall that cannot be broken through or drawn

back. The heavy, colour-intensive fabric appears dramatically lit,

almost photorealistic. The iridescent interplay of light and material

continues the tradition of trompe-l’œil without completely

succumbing to it. This is because, on closer inspection, the what

is supposedly real dissolves – into glazes, transitions, painting

as a concentrated process. Giovanelli is a precise observer of

surface, light and structure. The third work which is shown here

(pp. 46–47), two shimmering gold-coloured shirts, also thrives on

the interplay between material presence and pictorial dissolution.

The gold and the shine clearly refer to glamour, to the stage and to

projection: a play with layers of meaning, clearly composed and

formally thought out down to the very last detail – without ever

having to reveal the underlying subject. Born in London in 1993 of

Italian and Irish descent, Louise Giovanelli now lives and works

in Manchester. She studied at the Manchester School of Art and

completed her master’s degree at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am

Main. Her work is included in numerous well-known collections.