The pavilion 9A of the Mattatoio, will host the first exhibition in Europe by the Chinese painter Lu Song (Beijing, 1982), curated by Ludovico Pratesi. Lu Song’s works are figurative canvases that are inspired by an observant and poignant analysis of European art history, focusing in particular on the notion of landscape that the artist transforms into evocative sceneries, blending the surreal and the fantastic with the factual and logical. The large-scale canvases in the exhibition are almost homage to German romanticism and the works of great masters of the time such as Caspar David Friedrich and Arnold Bocklin – whom lived in Rome and interpreted the world of ancient roman classicism with a hint of demure and nostalgic northern soul.
Lu Song connects with this practice and presents at the Mattatoio a series of recent paintings alongside works designed especially for this exhibition. The paintings, which are dedicated to Rome, have metallic and bronze-like tonalities that create an immersive environment that allow the viewer to be dazed by the atmosphere of the show, where tradition and contemporary, past and present are combined together through figurative yet surreal painted ambiances. In works such as Offsprings, The Jungle, Chord or Castaways a juxtaposition of undefined chiaroscuro images and architectural structures and human figures enhance the sense of mystery of the artists’ oeuvre.
As put by the curator Ludovico Pratesi: “ The universe of Lu Song is constructed by the careful eye of a Chinese artist who observers and interprets the West. In the Mattatoio this perspective becomes a bridge between different cultures and highlights the multicultural vocation of Rome, which the artist interprets with sophisticated awareness.”