Louise Giovanelli (b. 1993, London, UK) lives and works in Manchester (UK). She completed her postgraduate studies at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main (DE) with professor Amy Sillman in 2020, after having earned a Bachelor’s Degree (B.A. Hons, Fine Art) at the Manchester School of Art, Manchester (UK) in 2015.
Giovanelli's delicate, luminous works inject vitality into historical subjects from the canon of Western art. Through interconnected series, she weaves together visual clues surrounding a specific moment or event. Her subject matter is primarily chosen for its formal qualities and includes, staged photographs, film stills, classical sculpture, and architectural elements. Within each series, Giovanelli repeats her motifs and certain paintings appear nearly identical, excepting slight alterations of the composition, or tonality. Deftly manipulating light and form, her multivalent imagery reminds us that the classical foundations of painting remain sources of delight and innovation. Keenly attuned to the historical significance of painting as a medium and system of representation, her paintings challenge the eye by dissolving representation into carefully crafted textures and patterns. For Giovanelli, painting allows for a visual slowing-down, and beholding her works is akin to a meditative process.
Selected solo exhibitions: Louise Giovanelli: A Song of Ascents, Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire (UK); Here on Earth, White Cube, Hong Kong (HK); Louise Giovanelli - Paintings 2019 - 2024, He Art Museum, Foshan (CN); Soothsay, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Always Different, Always the Same, Moon Grove, Manchester (UK); Collection Spotlight: Louise Giovanelli, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool (UK); As If, Almost, White Cube, London (UK); Auto-da-fé, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); A Priori, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL).
Recent group exhibitions: A Room Hung With Thoughts: British Painting Now, curated by Tom Morton, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX (US); Ensemble, The Perimiter, London (UK); Immortal Apples, Eternal Eggs, Hastings Contemporary, Hastings (UK); True Colors, AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL); Good Morning, Midnight, The Courtauld Gallery, London (UK); Self-Portraits, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); In Focus, Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL); The Sea, the Sky, a Window, Hill Art Foundation, New York, NY (US); In New York, Thinking of You, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY (US); The Kingfisher’s Wing, curated by Tom Morton, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Dissolving Realms, curated by Katy Hessel, Kasmin, New York, NY (US); Love is the Devil: Studies after Francis Bacon, Marlborough, London (UK); Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London (UK).
Giovanelli’s work can be found in the collections of the AkzoNobel Art Foundation (NL); Asymmetry Art Foundation (UK); Centraal Museum (NL); The Contemporary Art Foundation (JP); THE EKARD COLLECTION; Fundación Medianoche0 (ES); The Grundy Gallery Collection (UK); Hall Art Foundation (DE, US); Hill Art Foundation (US); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (US); Longlati Foundation (CN); Manchester Art Gallery Collection (UK); Manchester School of Art Collection (UK); MOCA (US); The National Museum (NO); Sarow Gallery Collection (DE); The UK Government Art Collection (UK); The University of Salford Collection (UK); Warrington Museum and Art Gallery (UK); Whitworth Art Gallery (UK); Yuz Museum Shanghai (CN) among others.