Francesco Poiana’s diaphanous and dream-like renditions of Italy are like memories, both contemporary and rooted in history. Working en plein air in the Italian landscape, these recent paintings are spontaneous, visual notes that speak to the past as well as something of our contemporary concerns.
Poiana was born at the foothills of the Alps thirty years ago; the son of a winegrower and architect he attended art school in Rome before conducting a Grand Tour in reverse, coming to London – to Central St Martins – to study Fine Art and thereafter the Royal Drawing School. He is one of the most fluid handlers of paint. Something that we hope for in any painter and in Francesco it feels like a given talent. The marks, thin and from the wrist contain within them so much information about what inspires them and also the sense of both person and place.
The paintings on show here were painted over the course of this summer when Poiana returned to Italy to capture the landscape of his home in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Making Introductions
‘Making Introductions’ is a series of five films produced in partnership with our artists and focuses on the techniques that stand at the core of their respective studio processes. All of these short classes can be followed at home. In one fifteen-minute video we hope you will learn a little about one of our artists and a lot about their process.
Every masterpiece starts with a sketch, every journey with a step. It is often forgotten that art is as much a language as speaking. “Making Introductions” is about learning these different ways of communicating and being able to take part in the conversation.
Emerging Talents Programme
The Emerging Talents programme offers a way into collecting that starts with the work of younger artists whose talent in terms of making and originality in narrative are timeless markers and suggestive of things to come.
The programme champions a new generation of artists who exemplify the quality that runs the more senior programming at Messums. Since opening in 2016 we have introduced an array of burgeoning talent to collectors and seen these artists grow in confidence and recognition.