11 April – 17 May, 2008


Demisch Danant is pleased to announce an exhibition of artist Felice Varini, on view April 11 – May 17, 2008. Felice Varini rejects the traditional canvas for his paintings, working instead with the factual reality of existing architectural space, both interior and exterior. His site-specific paintings intervene on the spaces in the exact condition they were found, highlighting the architecture as opposed to concealing it.

The paintings consist of fragments, which when viewed from one specific vantage point, as chosen by the artist, form a two-dimensional geometric figure. Since the image is projected over different surfaces instead of one single plane, it is immediately segmented by the space’s reality and appears fragmented when viewed from all other angles. The pictorial fragments themselves, however, appear capable of standing by themselves and form other individual vantage points depending on the viewer. The fragments also allow us to see characteristics of the architecture that they paradoxically conceal. This illusion, the contradiction between the material reality and the perceived reality, is the subject of Varini’s work.

Felice Varini was born in 1952 in Locarno, Switzerland. His work spans several decades at an international level. The Museé des Beaux Arts, Arras, France recently held a solo exhibition of Varini’s work entitled ‘Une Saison Suisse’ (Dec 2007). Selected group exhibitions include: the Osaka Art Kaleidoscope, Osaka, Japan (2007); and Versailles Off, Chateau of Versailles, France (2006). Public works include ‘3 Ellipses for 3 Locks at Cardiff Bay Barrage, commissioned by Cardiff Harbour Authority, Cardiff, Wales (2007). Varini currently lives in Paris.

Demisch Danant | 542 West 22nd St, New York, NY 10011
Exhibition Hours Tuesday-Friday, 11-6 pm and Saturday 12-6 pm

+ Felice Varini, Demisch Danant

postscript : amazing painted optical illusions

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