Funes’ works combine expressive power and irony, echoing the austere character of the mountains, a landscape shaped by stories of evolution and perseverance. His sculptures, striking in their simplicity and intensity, transform visions and emotions into an intimate, profound exploration of the natural world.
On Saturday 6 December at 4:30 pm, Animalia e altri racconti, a solo exhibition of sculptures by Pierluigi Funes, opens at the Municipal Palace in Pieve d’Alpago. Organised in collaboration with and under the patronage of the Municipality of Alpago and the Pieve d’Alpago Civic Library, the exhibition marks the artist’s first solo presentation in Alpago.
Well known in Emilia-Romagna, where his sculptures are frequently exhibited at private events, Funes returns to the place where he grew up and with which he maintains an enduring connection, presenting a collection of more than twenty wooden sculptures.
Here, the sculptures themselves also return to their roots. Most of the timber from which they are carved comes from Alpago, often from the forests of Cansiglio. It is here, too, that their creative origins can be traced: this is where Pierluigi first began observing the natural world, an experience that would become both the foundation and the driving force behind his artistic practice.
“We are delighted to host Animalia e altri racconti, a temporary exhibition by Pierluigi Funes, an artist originally from Alpago, and to lend our patronage and support to this significant event as part of our municipality’s cultural programme.
“The artist’s work,” comments Alessandro De Nardi, Councillor for Culture for the Municipality of Alpago, “engages in a dialogue with the mountains and the art of sculpture, two themes that are particularly close to our community.
“It is a great pleasure to see the Municipal Palace in Pieve d’Alpago host this artistic journey until 6 January. We warmly invite the entire community to visit the exhibition,” the Councillor concludes.
The exhibition unfolds across two rooms in the Municipal Palace, one on the ground floor and the other on the first floor, creating a physical distinction between two parallel strands of artistic exploration.
The exhibition opens with wooden portraits of animals: gestures, flights and gazes captured within the grain and contours of the wood. Upstairs, the sculptures take on anthropomorphic forms. Bodies, heads, faces and organs emerge forcefully from the timber, creating a surreal, almost hallucinatory figurative language that is at times unsettling and at others infused with irony.
Expressive power, anguish and irony define Funes’ work, reflecting the sometimes unforgiving character of the mountain landscape — a place that holds stories of evolution, labour, perseverance and family ties.
Through their essential forms, the sculptures give shape to visions and emotions, inviting visitors to experience the natural world from a perspective that is both deeply personal and profoundly evocative.
Source: https://www.exibart.com/evento-arte/pierluigi-funes-animali-e-altri-racconti/