SARHTORI - Italy

CONTACT: info@sarhtori.com

Despite man . . Spring continues

Every story lasts forever

to arrive - oil on canvas 100 x 70 cm

oil on canvas cm 80 x 40

The right balance

....all fall down D

oil on canvas 70 x 70 cm

mixed media on wood cm 100 x 100

Sometimes today . ... feels like the day before yesterday

....all fall down D

oil on canvas cm 70 x 70

His Biography and Curriculum

A special estrangement of vision constructs images that are as meticulous and sharp as they are paradoxical and unsettling.
The faces painted by Sarhtori offer constant contradictions of meaning, situations and forms multiplied and reverberated within an alienating, artificial dimension and – because of this – even more immanent and vivid.
The representative line lingers among the folds of the human soul, undecided whether to lend itself to a refined feeling of anguish – never banal or mannered – or to an ethereal contemporary melancholy, a direct evolution of a spleen that shuns the mediocre vacuity of thought devoid of reconsideration.
The practiced and continued chromatic inversions, the hallucinatory abyss of faces without gaze, the vanity of spirits with a thousand shades and countless derivatives seeking approval for their own silent suffering, all this makes Sarhtori's painting a peculiar hypothesis of will: the enigma that holds back the image is an authentic challenge to man's ability to think of himself as "beyond," "ultraphysical," directed within a multiverse that "unlimits" fantasy through the infinite mirror of ideas.
The presence of the title – not at all accessory, but foundational to the very nature of the painting – becomes the indispensable textual part for the construction of a true "visual rebus," a total and open work in which the word makes the image more accessible, or – reciprocally and without interruption – the image proves even more incongruous and inadequate to the intuition before thought.
The strongly aggressive character of Sarhtori's painting, expressed in a movement of tortured, anguished form/color, based on accords of unreal, visionary tones, does not disperse within the painting its own fulcrum, a sort of hierarchy of iconological values that lets the viewer's attention converge on the space where – and is revealed – the secret held by the painted face: to conceal the mystery in order to demonstrate its existence.

Alberto Gross
Art Critic

Critical Writings

The artist SARHTORI, always inclined towards the figurative arts, has expressed his hyperactivity since childhood by drawing everywhere and at any time of day. After finishing high school, in the early eighties, he began to make, entirely by hand, stickers for friends' cars and motorcycles. In 1988 he enrolled in and attended a painting course at the Milan branch of the Bolognese Academy, and produced some works on paper. Then, for various reasons, he distanced himself from the art world until, in 2001, he became passionate about sculpture and created some works in wood. One of these, entitled "PEACE," is displayed in the office of the mayor of Camparada (MB) as the winner, in 2004, of a competition organized by the Asca Association. Also in 2004, he approached painting, creating his first oil paintings. He met a friend of his father's, the painter Salva (Salvatore Brambilla), who encouraged him to continue and would later invite him to participate in his first exhibitions in Arcore, alongside other artists including:
Pietro Calloni, Ernesto Caglio, Lucio Boscardin (the creator of CIAO, mascot of Italia 90), and Maestro Clemente Mazza (a renowned painter from Vimercate, who uses colors he creates himself from entirely natural elements). He met the painter and later friend, Guido Poggiani, with whom he participated in several group exhibitions, and thanks to whom, in 2009, he entered the national competition "Coffee and Art." He won 1st prize and finally, thanks to this success, in January 2010 he held his first solo exhibition in Milan, at the "Archi Gallery" event space, presented by art critic Lidia Silanos. Also with Poggiani, he joined the Art & Farm event, painting 2 of the 24 cows in reduced format. He participated in group exhibitions in some Milanese galleries, including New Ars Italica and Sassetti Cultura. He met the artist Mike Ciafaloni, the creator of the work "The Tree of Life" (an impressive piece visible in a wing of the San Donato Polyclinic, 33 meters long), and thanks to him, who viewed and appreciated his works, he held a solo exhibition in May at the "Le Cornici" Space in Peschiera Borromeo. From October 21 to November 11, another solo exhibition at the Art Caffè Savona in Milan, where he exhibited 9 works on 60 x 80 canvases, part of a series of 11 paintings entitled "Alphabetics." He was selected by the Guizart Cultural Association and included in the Mondadori Art Catalog No. 46. During this period, however, an important turning point occurred. He began to use the stage name SARHTORI and, fascinated after attending a performance by the artist Dario Ballantini, directed his paintings towards a more instinctive and immediate gesture. Thus were born the first faces without eyes, faces that reflect anxieties, joys, and pains—in short, emotions and states of mind.
2011 opened with a group exhibition in Milan: "Invisible Cities" (from the book by Italo Calvino) at Sassetti Cultura, a historic venue in the Isola district.
He participated as a guest in a group exhibition at the Galleria degli Artisti in Milan, and in another group show entitled "Orpheus and Eurydice – Souvenir from the Underworld" curated by Lucilla Trotta and Emanuela Torri, again at Spazio Sassetti Cultura. From March 5 to April 2, a solo exhibition with LIVE ART at FEEL GOOD in MILAN with 15 works on display, organized by the Guizart Cultural Association. From April 16 to 28, he arrived in Salento thanks to the group exhibition "Colors in Concert" at the Stomeo Gallery in Martano (LE).

In June, he was selected by the Wikiarte Gallery, located in the center of Bologna, to participate in the group exhibition "The Colors of the Soul" (event broadcast by TV7 Gold). This gallery began a collaboration with him that would last 3 years.
In the same month, he participated in a two-person show with the artist Poggiani, at the Schizzi di caffè art space in Varedo (MI), with a live web performance. In July, he exhibited two works in the halls of Palazzo Bitonti in Montesano (LE), as part of the Salento Silente event.
In August, selected by curator Caterina Maggia, he participated in "PROPOSING: New Proposals for Contemporary Art" held in Forte dei Marmi (LU). From September 13 to October 11, he exhibited 12 works on canvas in a solo exhibition entitled Sensations, at the Il vecchio cotonificio space in Villasanta (MB), organized by the Circolo amici dell’arte.
Together with his artist friend Poggiani, from December 14 to 24, he held the exhibition "Liquid Expressions" at the Il Pettirosso Art Gallery in Vimercate (MB), during which he presented the project "From Waste to Artwork," focused on the recovery of modern society's waste, thus concluding his first two years of exhibitions. 2012 began with two group exhibitions: Expo Bologna 2012 at the Wikiarte Gallery and "From Mantegna's Egg to the Present Day" at the Galleria degli Artisti in Milan. Having now established an excellent working relationship with the Wikiarte Gallery, he was taken to Florence to the Simboly Art Gallery for a group exhibition. In April, he exhibited prints on canvas at Spazio Art Loft in Milan during the Fuorisalone. Meanwhile, his friend Guido gave an official stamp to the recovery of society's waste, inaugurating the RIGENERART project and organizing a group exhibition at Feel Good in Milan, in which Sarhtori also participated with the work "The Enigma of Solitude" (an installation composed of 7 busts painted in acrylic). In June and July
he returned to Bologna, again at the Wikiarte Gallery, to participate in two group exhibitions: Love for Art and Free Space. In August, he moved to Puglia, specifically Lecce, to participate in the group exhibition "Arte Sant'Oronzo" organized by Spazio AMG. In September, together with Poggiani, Lombardo, Ciafaloni, and other artists, he exhibited at Palazzo Isimbardi on the occasion of the Palio Citta di Milano, an event exclusively for Milanese Cultural Associations, and participated with a triptych in the exhibition "Apocalypse or New Era?" in the halls of the Wikiarte Gallery.
For the first time, and together with two friends (Gabriela Bodin and Annarè), he exhibited 5 works on canvas in the city of Bergamo. The group exhibition entitled "Portrayed Identities" was held in the rooms of the Galgarte Gallery of Emilio Minotti. The year ended with two exhibitions in Milan: a live performance at the "House of World Cultures," during the Ars Maiora event "Intuition Expression," and a two-person show, again with Guido Poggiani, entitled "Animal Sides," at Spazio Sassetti Cultura. 2013 was the year of "Artistic Sensations," an important project in which the artist was accompanied by the Wikiarte Gallery and the Mondadori Publishing House. This collaboration led to the publication of a Mondadori Catalog, Artistic Sensations. During the year, Sarhtori's works were exhibited in various exhibitions in Bologna, Florence – Mentana Gallery – and Milan – Teatro Nuovo, culminating at Arte Fiera Padova in November. The theme addressed during this period was always linked to the deepest emotions and states of mind that the artist conveyed through faces without eyes, created with the oil on canvas technique. The project advanced in parallel with other exhibitions in which the artist participated. In June, he was present in the group exhibition The Mirror at the Spazio Porpora Gallery in Milan. Thanks to his sculptor friend Irma Mores, he met Master of Art Elio Lentini, who involved him in the event Brushstrokes of Solidarity at the Hanbury Gardens in Ventimiglia and later in an exhibition at the Castle of Apricale (IM). In August, he exhibited the work "Prisoner of Faults I Do Not Have" in beautiful Venice, specifically at Cà Zanardi. In September, he also stopped in Genoa in the historic rooms of Palazzo Stella, home of the Satura art gallery. There was still room for a solo exhibition in Villasanta (MB) entitled Gazes and for participation in an event where Sarhtori presented his own project "Dangerous Intersection." All this took place during the closing event of the Intuition Expression Competition and involved the assembly of a cross to which the word ART was crucified. A project intended to highlight the fate that has befallen Art in our country but at the same time a hope for resurrection. Thus came 2014, the year in which the artist, through the exhibition of the work "Dangerous Intersection," would spread his message of awareness towards art and culture. In January, he exhibited the entire work "The Enigma of Solitude" by participating in the event Riciclami, again linked to the artistic reworking of recycled objects, organized by the Weart Gallery in Uboldo (VA). Thanks to the collaboration with Spazio Porpora in Milan, he had the pleasure and honor of exhibiting again the work "Prisoner of Faults I Do Not Have," this time no less than in the Loggiato Minore of PALAZZO DUCALE in Genoa. In April, with the Quadrifoglio Gallery of RHO, he was present at PAVIART, while in May he participated in: "CASSINETTART - The Paths of Art," an event organized by the youth council with the patronage of the Municipality of Usmate Velate and Legambiente in the splendid Parco della Cassinetta, a place where works of art blend with the beauty of nature. In the same month, continuing the path with the Rigenerart project, he joined an event of eco-creative workshops and stayed for a week at Bicocca Village, completing the installation "The Balance of the Species." This work would then be exhibited at the Palazzina Liberty in Milan in June.
From June 7 to July 5, he presented again the works from the Alphabetics series (2009-2010) on the occasion of a solo exhibition: "Art from Everywhere" at Metica in Paderno Dugnano (MI), supported by the ARS MAIORA Association of Milan.
On July 19, he participated in an event entitled Musicamorfosi: NOTTURNI 2014, and had the pleasure of exhibiting his works in the rooms of Villa Tittoni Traversi in Desio (MB) with a solo exhibition organized by the tireless Rita and Andrea from Spazio Porpora in Milan.
In August, thanks to the collaboration with Maestro Elio Lentini, he moved to Liguria and exhibited his works in the splendid and prestigious setting of the Castle of Dolceacqua in the province of Imperia. It was a solo exhibition entitled "States of Mind" in which he was accompanied by the sculptor Irma Mores

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