This is the first London exhibition of work by Francesco Vezzoli, a young Italian artist born in Brescia in 1971. In the early nineties he moved to London where he completed a BA in Fine Art at Central St. Martin's School of Art. His work has been seen at shows around the world, including in the video section of "Fatto in Italia", which was curated by Paolo Colombo, and held at the ICA in London and at the Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva.

Needlepoint Portraits and "The Life of Silvana Mangano"

Vezzoli is fascinated by the role of cultural icons in the popular psyche, of the workings of fame, power and talent, and the apparent attraction of that heady mix. With his needlepoint portraits, Vezzoli has taken one of the most retiring and unexpected of domestic activities, embroidery, and woven an interconnecting thread between himself as the artist, the celebrity icons of his fascination, and his audience. There is a wry enjoyment to the viewing process as one instantly identifies these predominantly contemporary figures, ranging from Nick Cave to Ricky Martin to Mother Theresa, rendered in a technique associated with a bygone age.

Silvana Mangano, subject of Vezzoli's thirty-six portraits, was one of the most famous actresses of Italian cinema. She died in 1989 after having starred in thirty-six films, including three of Pier Paolo Pasolini's most important works (Theorem, Edipus Rex and The Decameron), and three of Luchino Visconti's films (Death in Venice, Ludwig, and Conversation Piece). Famous for her mouth and for her eyebrows, Mangano appeals to Vezzoli not only as an actress, but as a noted embroiderer. In this work Vezzoli has embroidered Mangano's eyebrows in silver thread on a silk screen image from each of her films.

"An Embroidered Trilogy"

"An Embroidered Trilogy" is a project by Francesco Vezzoli, consisting of three videos made between 1997 and 1999. Each episode of the trilogy is directed by a famous filmmaker and starring an Italian "diva". Vezzoli himself appears in each episode as an "embroiderer", and personifies the thread which sews the three videos together. It has been shown at the Gio Marconi Gallery in Milan, The British School in Rome, the Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna, and at the Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva. It is currently on show at the Sixth Istanbul Biennal.


AN EMBROIDERED TRILOGY, 1997-1999

A work of three short videos, each starring the artist with a well-known Italian show-business icon:

A) OK The Praz is Right!, 1997
With: Iva Zanicchi and Francesco Vezzoli
Directed by: John Maybury

Iva Zanicchi is one of the most famous Italian singers and television presenters. She had a popular hit with the song in this video, a story of two wounded soldiers from opposing sides who meet and befriend each other by a river.
Filmed in the house of the late Mario Praz, a controversial professor of British literature in Rome, Vezzoli sits on a couch embroidered by Praz, working on a portrait of the historian.

B) Il Sogno di Venere, 1998
(The Dream of Venus)
With: Franca Valeri and Francesco Vezzoli
Directed by: Lina Wertmüller

Franca Valeri is a celebrated comedienne in Italy, particularly known for her parodies of petit-bourgeois women.
In the video she sleeps on a couch embroidered by Silvano Mangano, and dreams of being a disco diva dressed in a gown designed by Roberto Capucci, Mangano's couturier. In the background, seated on a motorbike, Vezzoli embroiders a portrait of Silvano Mangano.
The song, The Model, by the German band Kraftwerk, refers to the idea that models or actresses are also selling their bodies.

C) The End (Teleteatro), 1999
With: Valentina Cortese and Francesco Vezzoli
Directed by: Carlo di Palma

Valentina Cortese, the most acclaimed theatre actress in Italy, is another noted embroiderer. In the video she is seen in her house in Milan, surrounded by objects, including cushions embroidered by her, dramatically reciting the words of the famous Beatle song, Help!.
Vezzoli sits nearby, embroidering the face of Douglas Sirk, a director of Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s.