This exhibition at Danysz Gallery – Shanghai presents the multifaceted artistic vision of renowned Italian artist duo Sten Lex. The works of Sten Lex can take the form of photorealistic portraits or purely abstract compositions, but regardless of this variety one can always tell a Sten Lex.
The Italian duo has developed an unfettered style that can accommodate different genres, borrowing elements from street art, printing and engraving techniques, Op-art and abstract expressionism. The technique however remains unchanged. Sten Lex uses paper stencils that are glued to a board then sliced open to reveal the painted motif, with shreds of paper left hanging like peeling skin. A technique which the two artists invented and have matured over the years since their debuts in the early 2000s, presenting their works in outdoor and indoor settings around the world. In 2008, they were invited by Banksy to participate in the Cans festival in London. Their prolific career also includes memorable shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome and the Museum of Contemporary Art Donnaregina in Naples.
With this exhibition, the work of the two artists appears in full force. Portraits and non-figurative pictures coexist, every piece giving off the same aura of time gone by, of decay setting in. With Sten Lex, time is physical, nesting in the loose paper ribbons dangling from their works. Time is part of their palette, along with black, white and red.
Sten Lex, Shreds of Time presents to the public a contemplative exhibition, where the eye and the mind are equally challenged. A moment of irresolution and discovery to end 2020, not unlike what this finishing year might have been for most of us: a point in time falling between the cracks.
