STATEMENT / CRITICAL NOTES
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“Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.”
- Jean-Luc Godard
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Francesca Brivio’s painting revolves around a single obsession: the face as mask and revelation. Each portrait tries to seize the exact instant when identity slips, shows its fracture, and recomposes itself. Fast, confident brushwork leaves edges porous, colours vibrating, as if the image were still deciding who it should become. Oscar Wilde’s line is the hidden motto: “Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
Tivarnella (Blue Gallery, New York, 2024) notes how “the energy of the pictorial act brings these faces to life, offering the viewer an attractive and vigorous experience.”
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Artist and mentor Massimo Bollani offers a fuller reading:
"When, looking at a painting, you immediately recognize the author, it means that she is original, coherent and authentic. In Francesca Brivio's canvases we instantly grasp her decisive and dynamic traits, made delicate, despite the rapid brushstrokes, by harmonious colours and the lightness of the paint. A constructive gesture, fast and without second thoughts, animates the works from within, giving her subjects manifest vitality and strong emotionality. Francesca addresses many themes, although the feminine world predominates, never stereotyped or banal. On the contrary, her elegant, fluid style grants the figures at once a unique and universal character. These are introspective, solitary characters who feel emotions we all share. At times they appear indeterminate, yet never uncertain or weak; rather, gritty and strong despite the sweetness that inhabits them. Spontaneity is the technical and expressive means Francesca chooses, allowing her to transfer what she feels and experiences in that moment onto the canvas. Her excellent technique is never an end in itself, but placed at the service of the emotion that demands to surface and adhere to the paint. It is difficult not to be enchanted and captivated by her work; we are faced with a rare case of artistic intensity, maturity and truth."
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Ezra Vaezem adds a philosophical layer:
“Brivio’s portraits are open windows onto the unrepeatable moment. Each gaze is a journey into the complexity of being. Painting here does not describe, it explores, giving form to the invisible. As Emmanuel Levinas wrote, 'The face is not a thing; it is what escapes form, yet nonetheless manifests itself.'
Brivio’s work inhabits this escape, transforming a flash of consciousness into something timeless.”
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In Francesca’s hands, portraiture becomes a high-wire act between seeing and being seen. The viewer is invited to complete the story that the paint has only begun, a silent collaboration where our own “secret self” meets the artist’s urgent mark.
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EXHIBITIONS
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2026
June - Art Residency, Casa 3 Polopos, Granada, Spain
May - "Echo" Personal Exhibition, 30 works, DoubleTree by Hilton, Rome, IT
2025
Jul – Aethos Hotel, Milan, IT (7 works)
Jul – Artaporte Event, Viktoria-Luise-Platz, Berlin, DE
Jul – "Sublime ossessione", Spazio SV San Vidal, Venice, IT
Mar – "Corrispondenze", OnArt Gallery, Florence, IT
Mar - Exhibition 23rd Int. Fine Art Colony, Lisztov insitut Ljubljana
2024
Nov – International Art Residency, Monostrer Szentgotthárd, Hungary
Oct – "Bottega '500 Tivarnella", Blue Gallery, Manhattan, New York (9 works)
Sep – Michele CEA Prize, Ex-Fornace Gola, Milan
Sep – "A forza di essere vento", OnArt Gallery, Florence (6 works)
Jan – "Be a Lady", Arteaporter via S.Teresa, Turin
2023
Nov – "Morfeo", The YAH Factory, Milan
May – Art Residency, Artaporter & VisitAlassio, Alassio, Italy
Apr – "Angeli e Artisti", Iglesia de Los Angeles, AR
Apr – "Sinergia tra Istituzioni", Circolino, Bergamo
Mar – "UNfair", Superstudio Maxi, Milan
2022
Jun – "The Treeline", The Factory, London, UK
May – "Tratti Familiari", Palazzo Prinetti, Merate
Feb – "Semiotics and Beyond", The Holy Art, London – 1st Prize
Jan – "The Way", Albe ArtGallery, Abu Dhabi
Jan – "Women in Art", Bibart, Bari
2021
Oct – Desidera Festival "Camera Fenix", Teatro Piccola Fenice, Trieste
Sep – "Michele CEA Prize", Ex Fornace, Milan
Jul – "Bibart Biennale", Santa Teresa dei Maschi, Bari
Jul – "Every Woman Biennial", Copeland Gallery, London
Jun – "Manchester VR Exhibition", Deansgate Gallery, UK
Jun – "Parlami di Dante", Galleria Petrecca, Isernia
May – "Dream & Resilience", Marvelous Art Gallery, BE
Jan - "Octopus" Jo fishbar, Lugano, Switzerland
2020
Dec – "Tributo Modigliani", Fondazione Modigliani, Rome
Sep – "Tornando al Domani", Artee20, Merate
Sep – "Apulia Art Prize", Gioia del Colle, Bari
Aug – "Colori", Artee20, Merate
Feb – "Mediterraneo", Santa Teresa dei Maschi, Bari
2019
Dec – "Il respiro della Brianza", Artee20, Merate
Oct – "Contemporary ARTbox", Milan
Sep – "Notti Sacre d'Arte", Bari
Jul – "Kunst im Rathaus", Kappeln, DE
Jun – "Il bacio che non ti ho dato", Villa Lysis, Capri
2018
Dec – II Biennale d'Arte, Museo Butti, Viggiù
Dec – Spazio Arte/nonmuseo, Varese
May - Personal exhibition "Incontri", Artee20, Merate, LC, IT
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