The Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, in collaboration with ArtCN Gallery, is organising the exhibition ”Into the Woods”, which will be open to the public from February 12 to March 27, 2022. Wood is the link between the works of the two artists, Guo Donglai and Claudio Diatto, who come from different countries and generations.
Donglai creates his works with tree branches or cuts, paints, polishes, rearranges and assembles pieces of wood into shapes and sequences. On the other hand, Diatto’s colourful carving of painted paper ultimately stems from his fascination with the forest, which has been a constant feature in his work. Both artists, who have never met, convey the same kind of passion for the natural material, although the reasons that led them to focus on the forest theme are completely different.
For Claudio Diatto, who made the decision to retire into the woods at the age of 25 after a traumatic family loss, the forest is the place where his soul finds peace. Guo Donglai’s art has always been a reflection on the state of things in their natural form and on the initial function of art as a mimesis of nature. The bond with Italy unites the two artists: Diatto was born in Turin, the city where one of the most important art movements, the so-called Arte Povera, developed from the 1960s onwards. Guo Donglai completed his art studies in Bologna in 2015.
