Figure, myth, and narrative in the Transavanguardia
“Uomo seduto con cane e cappello” (1989) by Sandro Chia fully belongs to the Italian Transavanguardia, in which painting reclaims a figurative, narrative, and symbolic dimension. In this phase, the artist develops a pictorial language that combines monumentality with expressive intensity.
Executed in oil on canvas with integrated frame, the work presents a central figure constructed through energetic and gestural painting, where color assumes a structural role. The composition unfolds within a suspended space in which figurative elements and symbolic references coexist in balance.
The work reflects a narrative dimension in which the subject is positioned between myth and contemporaneity, shaping a figure that appears both heroic and ironic. The integrated frame enhances the continuity between image and space, engaging the viewer in the visual construction.
Sandro Chia – Uomo seduto con cane e cappello, 1989
Provenance: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg – 091 Art Project, Palermo
Exhibitions: “Novanta spine al vento”, Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna; ICC Antwerpen; Venice Biennale Museum, Venice; Schloss Rheda Museum, Wiedenbrück; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Internacional Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City; Museo de Monterrey, Monterrey (1989); “Sandro Chia”, Museo Mediceo, Florence (1991); “Sandro Chia”, Nationalgalerie, Berlin (1992)
