Patrizio di Massimo

Now on view @artbrussels with @rodolphejanssen Between Us (Paestum), 2026, Oil on linen, 200 x 230 cm Come visit if in town

Last weekend to see Between Us @estorickcollection The title reflects the many layered relationships I have with this museum. Nine years ago, @nicolettalambertucci and I got married here. It is also home to the only public Italian art collection in the UK - a place I’ve returned to and looked at for years. We also had a portrait taken here for a feature that @matthewjmclean_ organised in 2018 for Frieze Week magazine. There’s much more for me to unpack, but it felt right to mark these final days with a new portrait of my family - now with Diana standing proud and holding us together. Thank you @lewiser for a photo portrait we will cherish.

Happy to share installation views of my intervention Between Us @estorickcollection where eight recent paintings of mine are in conversation with works from the museum’s collection across the galleries. The exhibition runs until 12 April — four weeks left to see it. Slides 1–2: Insteps and Ladybug, 2026 with Luigi Russolo Slides 3: Still Life with Guitar (Monia and Michele), 2024 with Gino Severini Slides 4: Between Us, 2025 with Mario Sironi Slides 5-6: The Orange Curtain (Gray and Asa), 2024 with Giorgio Morandi Slides 7-8: Gaia (Tears), 2024 with Massimo Campigli Slides 9: Tai in the Studio, 2021 with Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà Slides 10: The Doctor, 2024 with Renato Guttuso and Amedeo Modigliani Slides 11-12: 28B Erlanger Road (Nicoletta and Diana), 2024 with Umberto Boccioni Images Photo Credit @eleonoraagostini

Open from tomorrow until 12 April — Between Us, a solo intervention @estorickcollection , London. My work is presented in dialogue with modern masters such as Boccioni, Morandi and Carrà. And if you’ve never visited the Estorick, this is also the perfect excuse — it’s truly one of the most special museums on earth. The intervention is co-organised with the @italyinldn Between Us, 2025 Oil on linen 200 × 120 cm 🏰

Now on view @friezeofficial with @chertluedde Not so Fair (Diana, Nicoletta, Monalisa), 2025 Oil on linen, 175 × 165 cm Thanks to @nicolettalambertucci for always posing (usually before breakfast or bedtime), to our daughter Diana—who says the only shows worth seeing are mine or cat pictures—and to Monalisa 🐈 for holding still for half a second. Grateful to the @chertluedde team for showing this work alongside Before the Funfair (see previous post), with our dear friends @eddie_peake and @hempton pictured with their angel daughter Ariel. Please go see 🐈

Before the Funfair (Ariel, Celia, Eddie) On view from tomorrow @frieze.london With @chertluedde @hempton 🐞 @eddie_peake

That’s a wrap - last day of “Friends, Foes, Beds, and Beaus” at @giomarconigallery . Thank you to the incredibly many who came to see the show; I’ve been truly overwhelmed. Extract from Chiara Nuzzi’s text: “The rhythmic pattern of the room is altered exclusively by a small self-portrait of the artist depicted with a magenta ladybird on his forehead (Amulet - Magenta Ladybird). This work, together with two other self-portraits of considerably smaller dimensions than the other works in the exhibition, accompanies the public from the very moment they enter the gallery. The other two canvases dedicated to the self-portrait theme are also characterised by the presence of ladybirds (one yellow and one red), depicted on the artist’s ear and cheek. Realised after a particularly complicated year for the artist marked by moments of joy and hardship, the three works here perform the function of amulets, reinforced in turn by the symbolic value of the ladybird, commonly considered a sign of good omen.” @chiara_nuzzi Opening outfit kindly provided by @emporioarmani .

The fourth room of my show “Friends, Foes, Beds, and Beaus” at @giomarconigallery features a series of paintings of empty beds, each referencing a specific chakra of the body: “Root Chakra Empty Bed” (red), “Sacral Chakra Empty Bed” (orange), “Solar Plexus Chakra Empty Bed” (yellow), “Heart Chakra Empty Bed” (green), “Throat Chakra Empty Bed” (blue), and “Third Eye Chakra Empty Bed” (violet). Extract from Chiara Nuzzi’s text: “Little by little, beds and blankets, sheets and pillows become co-protagonists, occupying the foreground of the canvas and pushing the bodies to move, until they force the human figure out of the picture and become the undisputed subjects of the painting itself. This is what happens in the “Room of Empty Beds”. This series, comprising six monochrome paintings, tests the removal of the human figure, marking a new approach to abstraction that leads him to work exclusively on drapery. Originating from some previous works dedicated to three friends of the artist who passed away in 2023, the research has evolved over time, evolved into a deeper exploration of abstraction. Patrizio di Massimo develops here a path inspired by the seven chakras in a process of decoding of the chromatic spectrum colours. The beds, in which pillows, blankets and sheets are represented in ever-changing positions, have an epiphanic quality, imbuing the room with a meditative atmosphere, while the presence of a third small pillow once again makes them portraits of family.” @chiara_nuzzi The 9th and 11th images are from the talk with @milovanfarronato that took place on February 22nd.

The third room of my show Friends, Foes, Beds and Beaus at @giomarconi features a group of family portraits, including myself, my partner @nicolettalambertucci , and our daughter Diana. Next week, the next room: BIG LOVE. Extract from Chiara Nuzzi’s text: “La vita personale e la dimensione domestica sono tematiche molto presenti nella pratica di Patrizio di Massimo, che dedica la “Stanza della Famiglia” all’esplorazione di temi quali paternità, genitorialità e cura, rappresentando se stesso in compagnia della moglie Nicoletta Lambertucci e della figlia Diana. La serie 28B Erlanger Road include diverse opere nelle quali la composizione si focalizza ora sulla presenza dei genitori con la figlia – insieme o alternati - ora sulla relazione tra l’artista e la moglie. La serie di dormienti, ritratti sempre a letto nei momenti di più intima vicinanza, rappresenta per l’artista una modalità esclusiva e analitica di elaborare la nuova vita paterna e gli assestamenti che questa comporta. È in questi dipinti che si fa lentamente largo il panneggio, i cui dettagli pittorici evidenziano ulteriormente le sfumature emotive presenti nelle tele e ne calibrano l’intensità. Poco alla volta letti e coperte, lenzuola e cuscini diventano coprotagonisti, occupando il primo piano della tela e spingendo i corpi a spostarsi, fino a costringere fuori dal perimetro del quadro la figura umana e diventare gli indiscussi soggetti del dipinto stesso”

The second room of my show “Friends, Foes, Beds and Beaus” @giomarconigallery features a series of portraits of male friends, including @robertobolle (at Teatro della Scala), Federico Bianchi @diplo_fede and her three daughters (at Nike’s house), Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin with Terra @formafantasma (in their home), @gray_wielebinski and @asaseresin (in their home), as well as a portrait of my dad and me. Next week, the next room. BIG LOVE. Extract from Chiara Nuzzi’s text accompanying the exhibition: Contemporary masculinity is another key theme in di Massimo’s work, explored both in his self-portraits and in his depictions of others. The five portraits in the “Men’s Room” focus on this theme and are inspired by traditional poses that contrast with the contemporary nature of the characters depicted. If in The Orange Curtain (Gray and Asa) and The Yellow Curtain (Andrea, Simone and Terra) the artist explores the romantic relationship of two male couples – artist Gray Wielebinski with writer Asa Seresin and the designer duo Formafantasma (Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin with their doggy Terra) –, in the painting The Doctor Is Ill, the artist portrays himself with his own father; the two clasp each other in a moving embrace, a loving gesture between father and son that is precious in today’s patriarchal society. The painting Beauty will Save the World (Roberto Bolle) is dedicated to the famous Italian ballet dancer, also portrayed in a classical pose while wearing stage clothes and staring resolutely across the canvas from a stage at La Scala in Milan. This solitary portrait creates a space of generative tension in the dialogue with the work Nike (Federico, Clementina, Dorotea and Costanza). The latter introduces the theme of family through the portrayal of a friend and his three daughters – the only female figures in a room otherwise populated by men – while also serving as a thematic counterpoint to di Massimo’s ongoing exploration of identity and masculinity. @chiara_nuzzi

“Friends, Foes, Beds, and Beaus”, my first solo exhibition @giomarconigallery opened last week. The first room you encounter features a series of portraits of long-time friends who studied with me during our BA at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera. In order of appearance: @michele__gabriele @monia.benhamouda.studio (at Villa Necchi Campiglio) @alice.peacock @elena_reverberi (at Museo della Triennale) @gaiafugazza @summer_in_the_bea (at Brera Academy). Next week, the next room. BIG LOVE. Extract from Chiara Nuzzi’s text accompanying the exhibition: “The “Room of Quarrels” – the emotional core of the exhibition also thanks to the numerous references to the city of Milan – takes up one of the recurring themes dearest to the artist, that of quarrels and fights, which found ample space in his expressive research until 2020. All produced in 2024 and tipically large in size, the works Spatial Concept (Alice and Elena); Still Life with Guitar and Mask (Michele and Monia); Room 1 (Beatrice and Loredana) and Tears (Gaia) are characterised by an almost grotesque distortion of emotions. Everything here is pulsating pathos: the artist plunges into painting and drags us from one canvas to the next as he goes through the emotions of anger and sadness. The subjects, who here almost take on the role of actors, stand out against detailed backgrounds depicting iconic monuments and architecture of Milan, places that are also important for the artist’s personal history: Room 1 of the Brera Academy where Alberto Garutti’s lectures were held. […] In particular, the room relates to the period of his training at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts (2003-2007) and represents, as is often the case in the artist’s practice, some close friends of the time who are now part of the art world (including artists like Michele Gabriele and Monia Ben Hamouda, Beatrice Marchi and Gaia Fugazza). The tableaux vivants series delves into a profound spiritual theme, central to di Massimo’s belief that negative emotions must be processed with the same care and intensity as positive ones – not in a form of apology, but in one of acceptance.“ @chiara_nuzzi

Very excited to exhibit my latest painting, “Who is Afraid of Meredith Frampton” (2025), at Alison Jacques Gallery, as part of the exhibition “Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley,” curated by Daniel Malarkey. Opening tonight, Friday 24 January, from 6-8 PM and continuing until 8 March 2025. @danielmalarkey @alisonjacquesgallery Taking its title from the opening line of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, “Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley” brings together the works of thirty-six artists across generations, disciplines, and geographies. The exhibition explores memory, transformation, and the dynamic interplay between past and present, heaven and hell—dichotomies that lie at the heart of this gothic fairy tale. Artists include: Theodora Allen, Santi Alleruzzo, Jean-Marie Appriou, Sophie Barber, Ernie Barnes, Polina Barskaya, Jerzy Bereś, Lewis Brander, Roger Brown, Cornel Brudaşcu, Anna Calleja, Tancredi di Carcaci, Leonora Carrington, Diana Cepleanu, Leonardo Devito, Maeve Gilmore, Ian Godfrey, Krzysztof Grzybacz, Maggi Hambling, Sheila Hicks, Goro Kakei, Nicola L., Eleanor Lakelin, Graham Little, Patrizio di Massimo, Quentin James McCaffrey, Chidinma Nnoli, Gordon Parks, Mervyn Peake, Tom Schneider, Monica Sjöö, Richard Slee, Dorothea Tanning, Lenore Tawney, Mariana Varela, Aleksandra Waliszewska. 📚❤️📚 Patrizio di Massimo “Who is Afraid of Meredith Frampton,” 2025 220 x 160 cm (225 x 165 cm in artist’s frame) Oil on linen