After travelling to Switzerland to re-enact Robert Walser’s final walk before his death (Ayer Subí, 2011) and after returning from Milan on bicycle with the restored figurine which he had found in a flea market in Madrid (Domani Pensami in battaglia, 2013), in Mattina, his third solo show at The Goma, Antonio Rovaldi examines the emotional or physical state prior to setting out on a journey, in which the artist’s gaze seems to vanish before our eyes in a series of photographs and a hoard of cuttings from newspapers.
The construction of minimal narratives probably inspired by major events (photographed by the artist to convey the sensation of a biographical stockpile) is by no means at variance with the silence of nature which Rovaldi photographs in the early hours of the morning. The vagueness of the texts and the depth of field of the black and white photos from the series “Esistono luoghi dove il sole brilla eternamente” foreclose any proper recognition of the space or the depicted nature. This same abstract quality is equally latent in “I giorni ellenici”, a bronze replica of soles of shoes which the artist finds on beaches and collects.
In this exhibition, Antonio Rovaldi wishes to transmit an imprecise mood that mirrors the incipient artistic consciousness. Though used to travelling distances physically (which he generally begins or ends in his studio), the artist also engages with a figurative journey sustained on the intimate potential of images. To introduce us into a state of lethargy that he wishes us to share in, Rovaldi will hold a performance during the exhibition opening to which you are cordially invited.

Antonio Rovaldi (Parma, 1975) studied Art and Photography at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milano. Aside from his exhibitions at The Goma recent solo shows include Mi è scesa una nuvola, MAN, Nuoro; The Opening day, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington; A Roma domani nevica Monitor, Rome. His work has been previously featured in Artforum, ATP Diary, Artribune, The Washington Post, Flash Art and Dopiozzero. Latest book publications from the artist are Detour in Detroit and Horizon in Italy. Rovaldi lives between Milano and New York.

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