UNIX Gallery presents EDEN: Pianeti Lontani. Paradisi E Terre Vulcaniche. (Eden: Distant Planets. The Heavens and Volcanic Earth), an exhibition of paintings by a renowned Italian artist Marcello Lo Giudice. On view May 12 – June 20, 2015, the exhibition features twelve new, previously unseen paintings that explore the theme of the beauty of our planet and the importance of its conservation for generations to come. The opening reception with the artist will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 6 – 8 PM. UNIX Gallery is located 532 W 24th Street.

Marcelo Lo Giudice’s (b. 1955) work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2009 and 2011 and is in many public and private collections in Europe and the United States. He is considered one of the most innovative artists in the second wave of the European Art Informel and has received critical acclaim for his rich, textured “telluric” paintings.

Influenced by his studies in geology, Lo Giudice creates monochrome abstractions on canvas that play with the chemistry of color and medium. He combines his knowledge of the Earth’s metamorphoses with a profound affection for organic, geological substances to create vibrant, energetic paintings by spreading and layering colorful pigments thickly on the canvas. This technique results in rugged, haptic surfaces, which, in various stages of drying, form beautifully interlaced designs that are both subtle and powerful.

“When I paint -- and I am also a gestural painter – I have to have the matter. The subject must have a right dosage, the right percentage of color to become a work of art,” explains Lo Giudice, “My relationship with matter can be compared to a deep, strong relationship between a fisherman and his fish.”

Nature and ecology are recurring themes in Lo Giudice’s works. In EDEN: Pianeti Lontani. Paradisi E Terre Vulcaniche Lo Giudice expresses his conception of Eden as a pure, uncontaminated paradise whose natural beauty has not yet been touched by a human hand. Lo Giudice’s paintings uncover worlds that are concealed from people in their daily lives and whose beauty cannot be revealed by engineering, architecture and other man-made faculties. “If you take a microscope to a pyrite you see Jackson Pollock and de Kooning,” adds Lo Giudice.

Lo Giudice’s interest in nature and its preservation extends beyond his artistic practice: the artist often collaborates with a fellow activist and close friend Albert II, Prince of Monaco, whose charity has funded numerous environmental projects. Most recently, the artist was involved in the charity’s “Save the Mediterranean Sea” campaign, which concentrated on environmental protection, sustainable development, climate change and the promotion of renewable energies as well as biodiversity. Lo Giudice created Bleu, a book of nineteen lithographs and a one of a kind acquaforte, which benefited the campaign. “The project was born when I went to the Isle of Ustica, one of the pearls of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and I realized it was completely overrun with plastic pieces left by the wake of passing ships there,” says Lo Giudice, “The Mediterranean is the center of the seas of the world because here the waters are distributed across the continent and ensure that all marine species have a natural habitat.”

About Marcello Lo Giudice

Marcello Lo Giudice is an Italian painter, sculptor, and installation artist. He lives and works between Milan and Paris. Lo Giudice’s work can be found in numerous major public collections and museums, including the MoMA, Zagreb, Croatia; Museum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rome; Deutsche Bank, Duesseldorf; John Elkann Collection (Fiat chairman) Turin, George Segal (producer), Los Angeles; Morgan Stanley Bank, Italy; Sheraton Group, Italy; Ecrit Company, France; Monte Carlo Hermitage Garden Principato di Monaco; Philip Morris, Switzerland; Cipriani Harry’s Bar, New York; FIGC Italian Soccer National Federation, Rome; Segal Company, USA; Sampdoria A.C. , Italy; Barbara Farber, USA; Hotel Kempinsky, Bratislava; Park Hyatt Hotel, Milan; Malpensa Airport, Milan; Bosforo Club, Istanbul.

About UNIX gallery

UNIX represents an international group of established and emerging artists who embrace traditional and contemporary artistic practices that range from painting, sculpture, and photography to large-scale installations and a synthesis of diverse mediums. The gallery provides a forum for innovative exhibitions and artistic exchange. Artists represented by UNIX Gallery have exhibited extensively in galleries, museums, and fairs worldwide. www.unixgallery.com.