23 Mount Street|London|W1K 2RP
+44 (0) 207 409 3591|[email protected]
For immediate release
Alberto Bertoldi
Clouds – A Series of Paintings
25th September – 3Oth October 2015, Mon – Fri: 10 – 6, and during the weekends of 10th & 11th and 17th & 18th
October: 11–5.
Opening reception: Thursday 24th September, 6 – 9pm
Alberto Bertoldi
C'eri Ci sarai
Oil on canvas
40 x 35 cm
Moatti Masters|Contemporary is pleased to present a
major exhibition of works by the Italian landscape painter
Alberto Bertoldi at our gallery premises on Mount Street
in Mayfair, London. The exhibition brings together a
recent collection of works alongside special commissions
from the artist’s Cloud series, being shown for the first
time in the UK. Alberto Bertoldi (b. 1955) began staging
award-wining solo shows across Italy in the early 1990’s,
before going on to exhibit worldwide at galleries and
shows including Daegu in South Korea, Galerie
Zur.Hofstatt in Basel, Hermitage Gallery in Texas, USA,
and Society Redaktionfest in Vienna. In 2012 he exhibited
at the 54TH Venice Biennale, under the curatorship of
Vittorio Sgarbi. He has been awarded numerous prizes
throughout his career including the Purchase Award and
Solo Artist Award from Forni Gallery. Alberto Bertoldi’s
Cloud works represent a contemporary exploration of the
Classical traditions of “plein air” painting, capturing the
beauty of painting natural light in all its power and
exploring the human obsession with cloud formations.
This
is
the
inaugural
show
for
Moatti
Masters|Contemporary – a new venture by Emmanuel
Moatti combining his 30 years career in old masters with
his passion for collecting contemporary art, to open a
gallery space connecting the two disciplines and work
with living fine artists who draw inspiration from the arthistorical language, in order to create a new modernity.
Born in 1955 near Turin, Alberto Bertoldi was raised in the rugged terrain of Northern Italy, which throughout his
childhood had a profound effect on him – it triggered his sensibility for nature and captured his imagination. During the
1970’s he began a series of solo exhibitions of his work and made regular visits to the studio of the surrealist artist
Cinello Losi (1928). Fascinated by the works of El Greco,
Hieronymus Bosch and the Flemish, English and German
Classical landscape masters, he was inspired to capture the ethereal presence of life in nature through contemporary
painting.
Under the guidance of professor Gino Moro from the Brera Academy he attended the Nude School to develop his
artistic skills and began a period of intense experimentation and in the early nineties Bertoldi opened a new studio space
in Piacenza, beginning a collaboration with the Braga Art Gallery. His visual language became clear, defined and
recognisable, as his landscapes began to look further towards their skies. Over the next few years, Bertoldi had several
important solo shows throughout the 1990’s and won awards including the Purchase Award and Solo-Artist Exhibition
Award at the Forni Gallery in Bologna. An extensive catalogue of his work was published by the Fondazione Cassa di
Risparmio di Piacenza, featuring poetic accompaniments to the paintings written by his friend Maurizio Agnellini.
In 2006 a retrospective of his work was held at the Museo di Villa Breda in Padua, with a catalogue containing texts by
art historians and curators including; Ruggero Pierantoni, Luca Mercalli, Gherardo degli Azzoni Avogardo, Maurizio
Agnelli, with poetry by Ala Merini and edited by Beatrice Buscaroli. His reputation spread across the continent with
more important solo shows in Italy, and further afield in group shows at the Artery Gallery in Edinburgh, the Hermitage
Gallery in Dallas, Texas and Galerie de l’Europe in Paris. In 2011 he exhibited at the Venice Biennale, supervised by the
famous Italian art critic Vittorio Sgarbi and continues to still work in his studio in Italy.
His Cloud series represent a deep-rooted tradition in European painting, working outdoors and capturing the realistic
effects of nature. His paintings reference the great European landscape old masters, sharing their obsession for capturing
the whimsical charm of clouds and illustrate Bertoldi’s passion for art history as a discipline as well as his creative ability
to represent nature and light at its most powerful heights. His Cloud series mark a career-defining point where his works
become an abstraction of thought in natural form as well as showcasing his skill as a realist painter.
A full colour catalogue will be produced to accompany the show, edited by Harry Seymour, with all proceeds from its
sale being donated to The Courtauld Institute.
Moatti Masters|Contemporary
This is the inaugural show for Moatti Masters|Contemporary, a gallery on Mount Street in Mayfair, London dedicated to
showcasing fine art from old masters through to contemporary. We run an annual programme of shows by living
artists whose works reflect the traditions, values and skills of classical masters, establishing a new modernity in the art
world. We also continue to source lost old master paintings, undertake important art-historical research and exhibit
artists from the 16th - 20th centuries.
“l avenir est un present que nous fait le passé”
The future is a present given to us by the past
Andre Malraux
Since graduating from The Courtauld Institute, Emmanuel Moatti has owned fine art galleries in Paris, New York and
London, hosting important exhibitions and producing publications on previously lost paintings drawings and sculptures.
He has worked with important private collectors as well as national institutions to source works of the highest quality to
place in collections. His new venture is a gallery space that explores the themes and traditions that span the centuries in
art, captivating the creative imagination from antiquity through to contemporary art, establishing a new modernity in
how art can be perceived. Assisting Emmanuel Moatti is Courtauld Graduate Harry Seymour, a London based arthistorian who has worked with art from Byzantium to Contemporary Italian Modernism. He will be editing a full colour
catalogue to accompany the show.
Moatti Masters|Contemporary would like to thank Marco Gambino for making this show possible.
Alberto Bertoldi
L'ostacolo dissolto
Oil on canvas
60 x 70 cm
For further enquiries, catalogues or photos contact [email protected] | +44 (0) 207409 3591 | www.moatti.co.uk
Solo Shows:
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
Galleria Sala – Piacenza
Galleria Libreria Einaudi – Mantua
Arte Fiera – Piacenza
Galleria delle Visioni – Piacenza
Galleria delle Visioni – Piacenza
Galleria La Pietra – Martina Franca (TA)
Arte Fiera – Genoa
Galleria de L’Europe “Peintures” – Paris
Arte Fiera – Padua
Arte Fiera - Parma
Galleria Libreria Einaudi “Segni dal Cielo” – Mantua
Fondazione Un Paese Museo – Luzzara (RE)
Castello di Sartirana – Pavia
Casa d’Arte al teatro –Piacenza
Museo Villa Breda – Padua (Anthology)
Castello di Belgioioso – Pavia
Castello di Gorizia – Gorizia
Great Art Fair at Alexandra Palace – London
Palazzo Emiciclo (Convegno Meteolive) – L’Aquila
Libreria Sovilla – Cortina (BL)
Fine Art Exhibition – Milan
Fine Art Exhibition – Daegu (South Korea)
Chiesa di Sant’Angelo – Piacenza
Innesti Contemporanei –Milan
Galleria Fogliato – Turin
Libreria Bocca – Milan
Galleria Braga – Piacenza
Libreria Sovilla – Cortina (BL)
MCArt2001 – Monet Carlo
Bugno Art Gallery – Venice
Society Redaktionfest – Vienna (A) with Ernst Fuchs
Galleria Le Muse – Andria Bari
Arte Reggio 2000 – Reggio Emilia
Galleria La Panchetta – Bari
Galleria Biale e Ceruti – Sienna
Etruriaarte – Venturina Livorno
Galeria Quest’Arte – Mirano (VE)
Galeria Forni – Bologna
Galleria-Libreria Einaudi – Mantua
Galleria Braga – Piacenza
Associazione Culturale Arte Moderna – Ferrara
Etruriaarte – Venturina (LI)
Galerie Zur.Hofstatt – Basel
Group Shows:
2012
2011
2009
2008
2007
2005
2002
2001
LIV Venice Biennale – Sez. Region of Parma
Apocolpise, Palazza della Regione – Milan
Finis Valtellinae – Sondrio
Il Mito del Vero – Milan
Il Vuoto del e le Forme – Chiavenna (SO)
Rassegna internazionale città di Bozzolo – Bozzolo (MN)
Quindici-quindici, Galleria Ricci Oddi – Piacenza (Collective)
Piccolo Museo Hoffler – Madonna di Campiglio (NT)
Palazzo Rasini – Cavenago di Brianza (MI)