 Mondello, 2004 oil on canvas, 78 3/4 x 78 3/4 inches Manfredi Beninati New Paintings James Cohan Gallery is pleased to present the first New York solo exhibition of new paintings by Manfredi Beninati. Beninati's figurative works, at once saccharine and acidic in color, immerse the viewer in a dream state of innocence with a lurking malevolence. They embrace the same slippage of reality into fantasy as can be found in the writing of Antonio Ligabue and Italo Calvino or the images of Lewis Carroll. Beninati incorporates images of friends and family in several of the new works, intertwining "real life" with fantasy. The paintings are like unchartered journeys which explore the dark side of a fairy tale. Populated mostly with children and small animals and situated in unnamable landscapes, we are given a glimpse into a nether world. Fluid seamless surfaces create a mental terrain riff with psychological undercurrents. Manfredi Beninati was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1970. He resided in London for many years and currently lives and works in Campagnano Romano, a suburb of Rome. Exhibition: January 29 - February 26, 2005 Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10 am - 6 pm James Cohan Gallery 533 West 26th Street USA-New York, NY 10001 Telephone +212 714 95 00 Fax +212 714 95 10 Email info@jamescohan.com www.jamescohan.com |
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