New expressions of Horse Art in Milan

Orodé Deoro and Dario Giancane worked closely with Camilla Filograna to create “Fracta” an exhibition curated by Andrea Novembre. 

Four artists joined their efforts to create an exhibition that puts the horse in the epicentre. Their work resulted in eight large works that combine the photographic language of Filograna with the mosaico decorations of Deoro and the oxidized iron sheets by Giancane. The revolutionary artistic concept puts visual art and decorative art into contrast. 

The exhibition starts with the shots of the photographer which make up one half of the work. The other two artists intervene alternately on the other half using their own mode of expression. This has resulted in a piece where the authors acted with great expressive freedom and put aside the ego of the individual to make room for a collective cooperation. 

This means each work is unique. As they are presented differently, the final result is more than just a sum of individual interventions. 

Related article: Milan welcomed the Leonardo Horse Project

Fracta: the equine figure as choice of subject

As the title suggests, fragmentation is the focus of the artists’ attention. The art of the photographer Camilla Filograna is, according to her, “like any visual art, the representation by default of the complexity of reality”.  As a piece of the photograph is cut out and reconstructed and completed by the other two authors, it restores its complexity and richness. 

However, the choice of subject repeated throughout all the pieces is the horse. The equine figure carries a contradictory symbolism: for some cultures it is seen as a vital creature, while in others it is nocturnal and infernal. As it is a double subject, in this case it can be perceived as intrinsically fragmented. 

The horse as a symbolic image

Strength, swiftness, majestic beauty and at the same time sensitivity and vulnerability. Horses are one of the first objects depicted in art and they are first seen in cave paintings and used in various sculptures. 

They have been considered sacred animals from ancient times and are associated with fertility while at the same time with omens, sorcerers and pagan deities. The first horses depicted we can see dated around 15-20 thousand years ago, and they are found in deep caves as Niaux in The Midi-Pyrénées in France or the Tito Bustillo in Spain. 

In the Renaissance, the horse took a biblical meaning with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the four coat colours of horses acquired a special meaning. Death, Famine, Pestilence and War furiously roamed the land and destroyed everything in their way.

Later on, equestrian portraits were a synonym of royalty and wealthiness and during the Romanticism era horses were seen as a symbol for perfection and freedom of the spirit. Ever since, the meaning of horses in art has been shifting and adapting to current events. Now in Milan, it takes a double symbolism as a fragmentation critic. 

The Fracta exhibition will be available to the public in the Other Size Gallery (Milan) from October 21st to November 24th, 2021.