Mariella Simoni

The singular artistic trajectory of Mariella Simoni (born in 1948) revisits the connections between conceptual art and abstraction, between poetry and matter. Originally from the Lake Garda region in Italy, the artist studied art history in Parma, as well as philosophy and psychoanalysis. Her first works, in the mid-1970s, immediately affirmed her interest in organic developments and the movement of living things, by using unbalanced objects or plants invading exhibition spaces.

Her move to painting in 1982 can be seen as the extension of these questions into the pictorial space. The material retains the same vibrancy in her paintings.

The traces of the artist's gestures, the sedimentation of paint layers, bear witness to the sometimes lengthy temporality of their conception.

She settled in Vienna at that time and connected with several artists who shared her concerns, such as Herbert Brandl, Otto Zitko, close to the Junge Wilde, or Franz West.

She participated in several exhibitions organised in Peter Pakesch's gallery, then was invited to exhibit at Documenta IX, an international contemporary art event, in Kassel, in 1992.

A moving artist, Mariella Simoni's work evolves with the cities where she stays: Athens, Paris, Ghent, New York... She occasionally turns to sculpture or installation.

Variations in formats, supports, dominant colours, contrasts, constantly challenge her practice, as shown by her recent productions, which demonstrate greater economy in the use of materials, and a different relationship to relief.

The presentation of this collection of works newly acquired from the artist and Peter Pakesch testifies to the intensity of this artistic research.