Nicola Samorì at Fondazione Stelline, Milan

"The New Frontiers of Painting" is the first major international exhibition produced in Italy to focus solely on new trends in contemporary figurative painting. “Despite the crucial role played by figurative painting on the current artistic horizon, and despite its ability to communicate the spirit of our times no less adroitly than other expressive forms”, notes Mr Paparoni, “major exhibitions tend to minimize its impact, generally preferring to include a limited number of figurative paintings, diluted within a multi-disciplinary context that tends to dampen its impact”.

The exhibition presents the public with works by Francis Alÿs, Michaël Borremans, Kevin Cosgrove, Jules de Balincourt, Lars Elling, Inka Essenhigh, Laurent Grasso, Li Songsong, Liu Xiaodong, Victor Man, Margherita Manzelli, Rafael Megall, Justin Mortimer, Paulina Olowska, Alessandro Pessoli, Daniel Pitín, Pietro Roccasalva, Nicola Samorì, Wilhelm Sasnal, Markus Schinwald, David Schnell, Dana Schutz, Vibeke Slyngstad, Anj Smith, Nguyê˜n Thái Tuâ´n, Natee Utarit, Ronald Ventura, Nicola Verlato, Sophie von Hellermann, Ruprecht von Kaufmann, Wang Guangyi, Matthias Weischer, Yue Minjun, Zhang Huan.

Many of the works on display, created in recent years by painters born in different parts of the world, and most after 1960, are large works. In addition to highlighting the innovative quality, and the impact painting has on the international arts scene, the exhibition is also a moment of reflection on the art of our time.