Giuseppe Fioroni: Myths Fairy Tale, Reality and Illusion

This vibrant exhibition of works by Italian artist Giuseppe Fioroni was a celebration of childhood fantasy inspired by the medieval age and Modern masters. Paintings of oil and multimedia on canvas were brought together to represent Fioroni’s fascination with traditional narrative and folklore. 

Giuseppe Fioroni’s work has been compared to “a world without place and time… but spirit and imagination,” (Vittorio Sgarbi). In an apparently playful style, sometimes recalling Chagall's imagery of the Old Testament, other times the fantasy imagery of the Symbolist painter Odilon Redon, Fioroni treats subjects of intense emotion, motherhood, childhood, divinity, above all, love. He probes the primeval forces that define the human experience, his vision bursting onto the canvas in a dazzling kaleidoscopic array of colours and energy that both invites and draws the viewer into his journey.

Giuseppe Fioroni was born in Perugia, Umbria and continues to live and work in his hometown. The strength of connection to his childhood and sense of place has a strong influence on his style thanks both to its religious mystical tradition and its folklore. Fioroni is considered Italy’s grand old master of myths, daydreams and children’s reveries. Due to his determination to explore and celebrate the hidden undertones of vernacular customs, Fioroni also plays ancient musical instruments - such as the bag-pipe and the barrel-organ - in a never-ending search for the deepest spirit of local folk traditions. This interest in music can be seen in his lyrical imagery as well as representing figures associated with musical traditions.

Myths, Fairy Tales, Reality and Illusion was the first London solo show for Giuseppe Fioroni and is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue including essays by the noted international art critic, Dr. John T. Spike, and former director of the Foundling Museum Rhian Harris.    

The exhibition was kindly sponsored by Artemisia, QuiArte and Farchioni Olii SpA.

Image: Saint George Legend, 1983, mixed techniques on canvas, 50x40cm by Giuseppe Fioroni © The artist