gianna zanafredi

gianna zanafredi was born and raised in casalmaggiore, a small town on the po in the province of cremona. after studying sociology at the university of trento she attended the paolo toschi art institute in parma, where she has lived and kept her studio since.

over the past twenty years her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in parma, paris and prague, at the venice biennale (2011) and at the international biennial of contemporary art at the zhou brothers art center in chicago (2013). ‘when i started art school in 1993 i already had some experience behind me: sociology, marriage, motherhood, divorce.’ (from piero del giudice, materia memoria annuncio. l’opera di gianna zanafredi, mantova 2017)

‘i develop my paintings from an initial idea. as the work goes on, new thoughts and other figures mix into it. i sketch very simply, a few lines with notes, following a thought. but the canvas is more practice than idea: the picture appears while working with the hands and with the colours. the initial idea is there, but only as intention. it changes, takes shape, becomes figuration.’

‘the matter in my paintings is life, history, dust, earth, water and landscape. a bounded landscape, without a wide horizon.’