maurizio anzeri: embroidered photographs

italian artist maurizio anzeri is part of a group exhibition, ‘makeup’ at a palazzo gallery along with john bock, dr. lakra, lothar hempel,
jamie isenstein, alan reid, markus schinwald, john stezaker, sue tompkins, ryan trecartin, vedovamazzei, francesco vezzoli.
human models photographed and perfected by the touch of some of todayʼs artists in their untiring quest for ideal beauty, unconventional, made-to-measure.
the exhibition, curated by mariuccia casadio, displays an epoch-making modus operandi, a tendency to reinvent the information and materials of memory,
a drive to customise the existing, defining and inexorably explaining contemporary imagery.

anzeri’s has developed a distinctive style of embroidering directly onto vintage photographs blending the past with future. through geometric patterns, the multi-coloured embellishments somehow seem to visualize the subject’s thoughts. ‘boo’ image © maurizio anzeri 

‘ben’  image © maurizio anzeri 

‘veronica’  image © maurizio anzeri

using different coloured threads, he traces portraits with stitches and transforms ghost like images into eye catching, intricate designs. anzeri’s elaborate needle-work set against somber backgrounds results in a sharp juxtaposition; and despite the history of both the technique and the images used, he produces work which treads new ground. he recently collaborated with dazed and confused magazine on a fashion feature ‘it came from the sky’.

‘dempsey’ (2011) for dazed and confused by maurizio anzeri  photography by richard burbridge

‘miles’ (2011) for dazed and confused by maurizio anzeri  photography by richard burbridge

‘herieth’ (2011) for dazed and confused by maurizio anzeri  photography by richard burbridge

following works have been shown in the exhibition ‘maurizio anzeri: lunatico‘ at the düsseldorf-based ‘galerie rupert pfab’ in 2010.

‘phase 2’ (2010) 42 x 29.7 cm image © maurizio anzeri

‘phase 1’ (2010) 42 x 29.7 cm image © maurizio anzeri

‘phase 4’ (2010) 42 x 29.7 cm image © maurizio anzeri

see maurizio anzeri’s bio here.