Jimmy Milani

Jimmy Milani's works are characterised by a constant tension between composition and dissolution, between an ordering force and another of opposite sign that threatens the unity of the canvas. The work in competition, entitled En plein air (my bookshelf), is no exception, showing us a grid or shelving from a central perspective, which regularly marks out the space and at the same time hints at a starry sky, from which spherical stars and cuboid comets emerge, challenging the two-dimensionality of the painting. This drive to open up another dimension is confirmed by the sculptural inserts, namely the easel, a small scribbled canvas and taxidermied butterflies. Milani thus stages the practice of outdoor painting in its essential elements, removing it from any romanticism, but also reflects on the pictorial gesture itself and on still unexplored creative possibilities. A graduate of the Brera Academy, now working between Milan and San Miniato, the artist shows a natural affinity with Giulio Paolini and, more generally, with that conceptual trend that probes the limits of the painting as if to test its vitality. Above all, in his works Milani always leaves an opening, a trigger with the surrounding space, in the awareness that art is an uninterrupted dialogue with the viewer.

Giulia Oglialoro