Via Vincenzo Monti 32, 20123 Milan
Via Aurelio Saffi 6, 20123 Milan
Opening: Wednesday, September 11 at 19:00
WIZARD GALLERY is pleased to present "The Last Supper - Visions of Eternal Return", an exhibition by American artist Terry Rodgers (Newark, New Jersey, 1947). The artist is internationally known for his monumental works, which address critical themes of contemporary society and its entanglements, rendered in hyperrealist and sometimes extreme tones. Rodgers' work began in the 1960s with photography and then shifted to painting, focusing mainly on compositions in which the human figure plays a predominant part.
His paintings originate from cinematographic style photography. After photographing and creating collages of chosen subjects, the artist uses them as a reference for his works. Characters are often privileged young people who are portrayed in groups, at parties or on social occasions, in which the discrepancy between desire, imagination and reality is evident, within the constant confusion and uncertainty that permeate contemporary society. Through his works, Rodgers investigates the complexity of the world we live in - from depravity to sanctification - touching on themes such as loneliness, overabundance, individualism, desire and lust.
On the occasion of this exhibition, Terry Rodgers presents a highly personal interpretation of The Last Supper. In the work, which originates from the most classical of compositions, we can recognise the stylistic elements that have characterised his artistic research. Although represented in a group, Rodgers' chosen subjects do not look at each other: their gazes are lost in a void of loneliness and oblivion. In the background, beyond the three windows, the landscape depicted is more vigorous and bucolic than that of the original masterpiece; moreover, the artist adds a new element, non-existent in his previous works: the presence of a dog.
Another piece in the exhibition links the artist's work with Italy: 'Cipriani', 2024, in which the distinctive elements of the Venetian hotel's exterior emerge clearly. The neatly arranged deckchairs, the chairs in the background, the swimming pool, the lush garden and the enchanting view of the city reveal a visual record of the scene. The landscape is familiar, yet it is the placement of the subjects and the presence of the female figure in the foreground that recall the distinctive style of Rodgers' characteristic characters.
The works on display are flanked by a series of small-format pastels on paper, and two video installations from 2010, which offer a privileged glimpse into the early visual explorations and experiments that helped shape Terry Rodgers' artistic language. A limited edition of 10 prints of 'The Last Supper - Visions of Eternal Return', signed and numbered by the author, is available for the occasion.
Terry Rodgers' work has been presented internationally in many solo and group exhibitions between the United States and Europe. European museums that have exhibited his work include amongst others: the Stedelijk Museum-Hertogenbosch, the Scheringa Museum of Realist Art, the Drents Museum and Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Franz Gertsch Museums, Kunstmuseum, Zentrum Paul Klee, and the Burgdorf in Switzerland , the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, the Folkwang, the Kunsthalle Emden, and the Kunstverein Heppenheim in Germany, the Kasteel van Gaasbeek Museum in Belgium, the Kunsthalle Krems in Austria, and the Galerie Rudolfinum in Prague.
For enquiries and information:
info@wizardgallery.com
milan@wizardgallery.com
