Working from memory and imagination, Margherita Manzelli paints portraits of haunted and haunting female figures with wide-set translucent eyes and pale, emaciated bodies.

Placed in backgrounds that range from vaguely representative to otherworldly, Manzelli’s figures, such as the recumbent woman in Oval (2012), stare uncannily back at the viewer. Infusing traditional oil painting technique with a conceptual element, Manzelli often includes a performative component in her exhibitions, such as linking the functioning of the gallery lights to her own live singing.

Margherita Manzelli was born in 1968 in Ravenna, where she lives and works. Among other exhibitions, she had solo shows at the Art Institute of Chicago (2004), Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2004), MAXXI, Rome (2003) and her works were included in group exhibitions at Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2008), Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2007) and Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1997).

Greengrassi Gallery
1a Kempsford Road
London SE11 4NU United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 78409101
info@greengrassi.com
www.greengrassi.com

Opening hours
Tuesday - Saturday
From 11am to 6pm