Maurizio Anzeri: In-Equilibrio

Haines Gallery is pleased to present In-Equilibrio (In Balance), a solo exhibition by the Italian artist Maurizio Anzeri (b. 1969; lives and works in London, UK). Anzeri’s first large-scale show with the gallery features a series of vintage photographs of circus performers, with their essential qualities drawn out through embroidery and other materials tape, as well as his first-ever video work.

In-Equilibrio debuts works from Anzeri’s latest series, Acrobatics (2018), which see him combining his embroidery technique with new materials for the first time. Each work begins with a black-and-white photograph of circus performers, sourced from flea markets, which Anzeri hand-embroiders directly onto. His deft threadwork brings these images of acrobats, jugglers, and trapeze artists to joyous life. Vividly colored lines radiate wildly from limbs and wheels to suggest frenzied movement, or vertically flank performers to emphasize their acts of super-human balance. Faces are obscured by threaded masks, at times revealing a single eye directed to viewers like a knowing wink. 

Using thin strips of brass and steel, gaffer tape, and colored paper, Anzeri extends the action of each circus performer beyond the confines of the image. His careful selection of material, cropping, and composition draw us further into the world of the photographs. Anzeri’s circus scenes are as whimsical as they are enigmatic, filled with uncanny figures and mysterious emanations.

Anzeri’s work is the subject of a new limited edition monograph, Le Loup Acrobate (The Wolf Acrobat), published by Editions Virgile in Paris and accompanied by a poem by French author and musician Arthur H (aka Arthur Higelin). Copies of Le Loup Acrobate will be available at Haines Gallery.