monumentum
8 June - 19 June
John Mezzini
mɔ.nuˈmɛn̪.t̪um
8 – 19 June 2021
hours:
Tuesday – Friday 11am to 5pm,
Saturday 11am to 3pm
admission: Free
…a visual representation of a heightened state of being, reminding the viewer of the meaningful joy of human physical movement…
The works in mɔ.nuˈmɛn̪.t̪um are conceptually abstract paintings based on the physicality of movement of his performance artist subjects, including acrobats and professional dancers. Mezzini’s work captures an intense or static physical crescendo to create an emotive response. These paintings are a visual representation of a heightened state of being, reminding the viewer of the meaningful joy of human physical movement and the associated physiological state.
John Mezzini recently rediscovered the process of making art. With the belief that artistic evolution is paramount, he has expanded his practice, forming creative relationships with performance artists from all over the world. Intrigued by their abilities and dedication, he worked toward adapting some of the concepts of their various art forms to further the development of his own.
“I believe that artist should strive to describe and interpret by whatever means necessary without the confines of a specific notion or movement.”
Choosing different spatial arrangements in the compositions allows Mezzini to manipulate and abstract elements of light with colour and give equal measure to representational and abstracted aspects of each piece. The resulting works move the viewer into the orchestrated pattern of the chosen gesture or expression.
Mezzini collaborated with his performance artist subjects in terms of pose, style and resulting shapes, as well as utilising studio photography and drawings in the creation of these paintings. mɔ.nuˈmɛn̪.t̪um is the result of this coherent theme and statement.
An engineer by trade, John Mezzini has recently returned to painting after studying at the North Adelaide School of Arts over twenty years ago. Mezzini has dabbled in the arts in the intervening years, notably as a musician. His interest in painting never really subsided, but neither did he fully commit himself to it. After encouragement from friends and a renewed enjoyment of the process, Mezzini began again. He first exhibited E lascia dir le genti at fortyfivedownstairs in 2019.
Since then, Mezzini has participated in SWISSARTEXPO, and was placed in the top 100 artworks of the fair. He has also shown work at Art Box Miami, and was part of the group show Emerge at Brunwick Street Gallery, both in 2019. Mezzini returns to fortyfivedownstairs for his second solo exhibition, mɔ.nuˈmɛn̪.t̪um.