CORRISPONDENZE

Conceived and curated by Francesco Proia, the exhibition CORRESPONDENCES pays tribute to the artistic activity of François Canavy (1941 - 2021) three years after his passing. Canavy, born in Paris and trained in academic studies of drawing and art history, is a emblematic figure of the increasing importance that decorative arts have known during the twentieth century, until the definitive overcoming of the traditional separation between minor arts and major arts, as well as the vertical vision of culture, between high ranks and popular ranks. From the Seventies to the Nineties, documentarian and decorator at maison Van Cleef & Arpels, refined collector of paintings and sculptures as well as precious craft artifacts, Canavy has simultaneously pursued his personal artistic research, whose authentic interest is testified by the appreciation that Jean Dubuffet has shown in a series of letters that partly are at the origin of this Roman exhibition.

In fact, the title CORRESPONDENCES intends to draw attention to Dubuffet as a reference point for Canavy, while also focusing on the friendship and artistic dialogue relationship that Canavy has woven with Francesco Proia, to whom, over the course of several decades, small-format works are addressed by mail and are on display here, collages and polymaterials, all on envelopes where address and postage stamp are fully integrated into the composition. This core of mail art, admirably consistent, constitutes the collection of works by Canavy received and preserved by Proia. And this act of care, extended over time, finds expression in three recent works by Proia, which are exhibited as a counterpoint to those of Canavy, representing also a distant return, of esteem and recognition.

Accompanying the exhibition is a rich volume from Edizioni Cambiaunavirgola which contains an in-depth analysis of Canavy's work through other examples of his art and the publication of the precious letters from Dubuffet (thanks to the Fondation Dubuffet), as well as writings by Isabelle Léonard, Stefano Geraci, Pasquale Polidori and Francesco Proia.