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When I first saw Alberto Porro’s paintings of arcane symbols against decorative backgrounds, my millennial-addled brain erroneously assumed they were derived from tarot cards. Instead, these are trenchant renderings of various and sometimes obscure European playing cards whose specific meanings and histories have lent themselves to years of engagement for Porro in his exhibition Settebello. Scopa is a popular Italian card game, the artist’s native country, with forty cards divided into four suits: cups, coins, swords, and clubs with various values and face cards. While the meaning of each card feels inscrutable to an unfamiliar audience, especially given that they float in front of multiple backgrounds at different scales, they begin to leave a sense of purpose when viewed as a whole.
Seven identical floating coins, dispersed in three rows of two and one sole coin on top, feature neutral, linear red faces and decorative, geometric yellow and black borders. Settebello (2024)...More
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Press Release
When I first saw Alberto Porro’s paintings of arcane symbols against decorative backgrounds, my millennial-addled brain erroneously assumed they were derived from tarot cards. Instead, these are trenchant renderings of various and sometimes obscure European playing cards whose specific meanings and histories have lent themselves to years of engagement for Porro in his exhibition Settebello. Scopa is a popular Italian card game, the artist’s native country, with forty cards divided into four suits: cups, coins, swords, and clubs with various values and face cards. While the meaning of each card feels inscrutable to an unfamiliar audience, especially given that they float in front of multiple backgrounds at different scales, they begin to leave a sense of purpose when viewed as a whole.
Seven identical floating coins, dispersed in three rows of two and one sole coin on top, feature neutral, linear red faces and decorative, geometric yellow and black borders. Settebello (2024)...More
