I can't help but think of the last two shows at MASSIMODECARLO in London. One, by Jenna Gribbon, was about a rawness and vulnerability of subject, family and lover, in the nude or nakedly exposed. That is literally what it was about; exposing a subject, often in a larger-than-life scale. Now, the gallery is presenting the opposite, Private Ceremonies, by the often mysterious Diane Dal-Pra. Her works are, too, about the body, but more how the body blends and is obscured by sculptures and objects, how we can hide and or redefine our physicality with the things around us.
I've often thought of Diane's work as this continued exploration of how much the body could be removed from a work and yet still be the centerpiece. Her once figurative works are under veils now, and it gives the viewer pause as to what abstraction you are immersed in. It's fascinating that the artist evokes Balthus and Domenico Gnoli as influences, because both contain elements that Diane is so talented at capturing; the complexities of the body. Gribbon may have painted a personal journey, and the excellent curation by the gallery to have Diane after shows the many faceted levels of figuration and personal discovery, and the new era of contemporary painting. —Evan Pricco
