Michele Tocca | Rethinking romanticism in contemporary art

The exhibition offers a profound exploration of the spiritual and visual legacy of three masters of painting, Caspar David Friedrich, John Constable, and J.M.W. Turner, highlighting their influence in the works of seven protagonists of the international art scene: Giovanni Anselmo, Massimo Bartolini, Ian Kiaer, David Schutter, Linda Fregni Nagler, Pesce Khete, and Michele Tocca.

It is a fascinating journey that connects the great painting of the 19th century with contemporary artistic research. Far from being a mere historical celebration, the exhibition shows how the relationship between humanity, nature, and the infinite remains essential in art today.

The exhibition unfolds through three conceptual strands corresponding to the different “souls” of Romanticism: Friedrich’s hermetic and metaphysical art, Constable’s direct naturalism, and Turner’s landscape as a mental space.

Inspired by John Constable and his simple, direct approach to landscape and nature, Michele Tocca presents a pure and immediate form of painting. Through the practice of en plein air painting and the mnemonic study of the painterly gesture, the artist seeks “firstimeness”, the ability to look at the world with fresh, unconditioned eyes. The study of clouds and the unmediated rendering of the landscape thus become a spiritual exercise aimed at rediscovering the truth of simple things.