Francesca Brunetti

Hail Mary

The gallery is pleased to present a new two-person exhibition: Hail Mary, featuring the works of Francesca Brunetti and Juan Negroni. The title of the exhibition comes from the Roman Catholic prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose idea of sexual purity was instrumental to define religious views about women, gender, and male domination in Christianity. This exhibition occurs amidst Pope Francis most recent remarks scolding people who choose pets over children as “selfish”. Brunetti and Negroni, whose nationalities are Italian and Puerto Rican respectively, discuss male insidious cultural narrative interventions about women destined to perpetuate sexual objectification and historic obliteration. The works presented in this exhibition are tied by an artistic approach rooted in traditional illustration techniques; Brunetti uses sensual gestural strokes while Negroni’s lines are rigid and candid.

Francesca Brunetti is an artist and a scholar, and her research involves interdisciplinary approaches to studio art, gender studies, sustainability, and well-being. In her work, Francesca analyzes how cultural artifacts contribute to creating and reinforcing gender stereotypes and she uses drawing and creativity to deconstruct these stereotypes. She brings ecology and environment into this discourse by considering how the relationship between women and their territories influences women’s material and cultural existence. She uses imagination to rethink this relationship between women and the environment in a way that brings to women social power and sensorial fulfillment and promotes sustainability.

Brunetti considers creativity an essential element to conduct her feminist investigation and, at the same time, the feminist issues that she examines represent a source of inspiration to inform her creative work. This combination of theoretical thinking and artistic practice is reflected in her academic background. She pursued her interdisciplinary education in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She possesses Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Philosophy pursued at La Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). She earned a second Master’s in Communication Design at the Glasgow School of Art (United Kingdom). After pursuing her second Master’s in Scotland, she moved to the United States wherein Spring 2021 she obtained a Ph.D. in Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Dallas. From August 2019 to June 2021 Brunetti was awarded a Research Fellowship at the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at the University of Texas at Dallas and from August 2016 to June 2017 she was awarded an art residency at CentralTrak Gallery in Dallas. Brunetti exhibited her original work in different locations in the United States, Europe, and Japan. In addition of participating to multiple groups shows, she had three solo exhibitions in Dallas and one in Rome. In Dallas, she showed her work at the University of Texas at Dallas, 500 X gallery, and Saatchi & Saatchi gallery. In Rome, she showed at Casa Internazionale delle Donne di Roma (International House of Women in Rome). Casa Internazionale Delle Donne di Roma is a historical location connected to the Italian feminist movement of the seventies led by the philosopher Carla Lonzi (she is famous for publishing the book Let’s Spit on Hegel). Her next solo exhibition is scheduled at Libreria delle Donne di Milano (Women’s Bookshop in Milan). Libreria delle Donne di Milano is another historical Italian feminist center connected to the Italian philosophical movement of the Sexual Difference. Her other solo exhibition is scheduled for April 2022 at Torre Comunale di Sant’Ambrogio in Turin. She published in academic journals, presented her work at international conferences, and had teaching appointments in American and European universities. She lives and works in Rome, Italy.

Juan Alberto Negroni is an artist and educator born in Bayamón PR in 1979 based in Dallas, Texas. His work examines how historical events and socio-political conditions like Colonialism, the Atlantic Slave Trade, displacement and cultural resonances have shaped Puerto Rico's, the Caribbean’s, and Latin American's oneness. He received an MFA in Studio Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas TX, an MA Ed in Art History and Museum Studies from the Caribbean University in Puerto Rico, and a BFA with a Major in Printmaking from the Puerto Rico School of Fine Arts and Design. Negroni counts with multiple solo exhibitions such as The Defect Effect, Not About Beauty (Religion, Politics and other failures), A Midsummers Night’s Dream at 18.2208° N, 66.5901° W, Texas Woman’s University, Denton TX, Pacificaribbean at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo CA and group exhibitions such as Detroit: A Brooklyn Case Study, in Los Angeles CA 2010, Dialectic City, curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates, Muestra Nacional de Arte, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan PR 2015 and 2018, Kinds of Monuments, Zattere Cultural Flow Zone, Dorsoduro, Venice IT, 2da Gran Bienal Tropical in Loiza, PR, Home & Visitor at Le Consortium, Dijon FR, Topologies of Excess: A Survey of Contemporary Practices from Puerto Rico (curated by Emma Saperstein and Mariola Rosario) among others. Negroni was the recipient of the Meadows Artistic Scholarship Award 2015 and the 2017 Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art Dijon Residency Fellowship.

Liliya Rattari is an award-winning artist and illustrator from Dubai, UAE, currently residing in San Francisco, CA. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration with an emphasis in Children’s Books from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Rattari creates illustrations for children and adults; she works with traditional and digital mediums, including ink, graphite, felt pens, paints, color pencils, pastels, and clay. Her style is representational and highly detailed, abundant in textures and natural patterns. Influenced by her multinational and multicultural background, she loves highlighting the magic of everyday life, both the tangible and the imagined, often exaggerating the extraordinary subtleties that make each subject unique. Aside from editorial and literary commissions, Liliya is currently working on personal series that address the debilitating effects of depression and the long-term impact of trauma. Nonetheless, her portfolio is mostly a collection of happy places, fierce personalities, timeless charm, and nostalgia. Most recently, Rattari’s work has been recognized by Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, and 3x3 Illustration. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

This exhibition is by appointment. Masks will be required to enter the gallery.