Re-cognition notoriously marks the transition from ignorance to knowledge. Recognising, therefore, is not the same as coming into contact for the first time, nor does it need words: Recognition is almost always mute.
And recognising does not in any way mean understanding, as understanding has no role in the act of Recognition. The most important aspect of the term “re-cognition” therefore lies in the first syllable, which refers
to something that comes before, a pre-existing awareness that makes the transition from ignorance to knowledge possible. Recognition occurs when an earlier awareness flashes before us, causing a sudden change in our
understanding. And yet that flash cannot happen spontaneously; it cannot flare up without its lost other. Therefore, the resulting knowledge is different from discovering something new; instead, it derives from becoming
aware of yet unexpressed potential. ”
Francesco De Prezzo’s work spans different media, such as painting, to installations and architectural interventions. His practice is connected by an interrogation of the formal language of the representation in its
most familiar theme of monochrome; in painting theory, it is seen as a radical rejection of representation principles. One of his work’s fundamental concerns is the relationship between image and meaning, object and content.
And within this relationship, it defines and dismantles a formal language tending to engaged in reduction. His work tests the possibility of a definite visual perception to discuss the image’s role as language.
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(…) “In its most literal sense, the term representation acquires the meaning of re-presentation – that is, making something present again.
The title of the show “Represent” refers to both the act of representing and content of the representative action itself, the image that becomes object in order to be communicated.
Francesco De Prezzo’s works copy elements from reality, borrowed by the studio’s surrounding environment and portions.
His subjects pass onto the canvas, giving life to faithful reproductions. His works reflect on the spatial relation between the real and the reproduced and between the observer and the observed.
After this first phase comes a covering action, through which the images resolve their authenticity in the process of self-negation. Thick layers of white polish or solvent applied on the finished forms wipe away most
of their comprehension, preserving the integrity of just a few fragments.
The big uniform layers of color that overwrite the preexisting image transform the canvas into an open space full of possibilities, where nothing seems to undermine the circumstances of the change.
De Prezzo rethinks the relation between space and dimension and raises questions on the dynamics of images fruition, giving them a new interpretation.
His gesture transforms the eloquence of the reproduced object into a link between concealment and manifestation. It runs from painting emphasis and quests for a natural conclusion in the absence of noise, which – in fact
– hides by unveiling. And by doing this, it finally invites the observer into a silent complicity.”
Marialuisa Pastò
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(…) “Between painting that goes beyond time and multi-dimensional spaces, the artistic research of Francesco De Prezzo is continuously looking for a new balance, antagonizing the idea of status quo by concealing it.
His research swings between creation and deconstruction: rules and pedantic processes are wrapped up in the idea of cancellation. The annulment generates a new pictorial language that reflects on the idea of painting and
its destruction. De Prezzo subverts the usual modus operandi, according to which, the color coating works as image background.
The result is rapidly canceled by rapid white or black strokes, spread with a paint roller that wipes out all those forms, situations, and objects previously carefully described, saving only a few fragments. This radical
and almost incoherent act gives sense at the work; things become them painting gesture, the figurative blends with the metaphysical, And the canvas acquires a new depth.
For De Prezzo, pictorial work is a pretext to investigate the idea of perception and reproducibility of images in various declinations, visible only when there is a glimmer of light.”
Domenico De Chirico