Thomas Berra
In Berra's works the need to tell the imaginary, the dreamed, the real and the living is often evident. In recent years, the artist has developed various themes in different final forms, with that leitmotif of his quick and concise pictorial timbre. Papers, postcards, drawings, large, small and medium-sized canvases, to outline shapes and themes that leave no doubt: they are ideas, they are visions, they are dreams, they are fears, they are secrets. In the most recent production, it is possible to notice a declared obsession with color, specifically green, together with a renewed attention to the vegetable element. The artist seems to be driven by a desire for the essentiality of forms and the infinite shades and shades of green, which is left with the role of an "immersive" tool of the gaze towards timeless and dreamlike settings.
A careful scholar of both tradition and contemporaneity, Berra draws on a vast abecedary of suggestions. In fact, there are many references to the history of art, philosophy and literature, a recognizable factor both in the titles chosen and in the composition of the works.
He has participated in important residencies inside and outside Italy, including recently: Pastificio Cerere Foundation in Rome (2017), Schafhof - European Center for Art Upper Bavaria in Germany (2017). While one of the latest exhibitions to remember is the site-specific wall painting intervention at the Spazio Leonardo Assicurazioni in Milan, organized by UNA Gallery; the personal "Verde Indagine" presented at the Placentia Gallery (Piacenza, 2017); the personal set up at Villa Vertua Masolo, “After the flood” (Nova Milanese, 2017).
