Mattia Parodi: Renaissance and metaphysics

A recurring theme runs through Mattia Parodi's portfolio: the designs of Piero Fornasetti. It could be pure happenstance but the landscapes depict Urbino, Italianate gardens, colonnades conjuring up the same Renaissance imagery set against the same, slightly disquieting metaphysical backdrop. The sweep of Urbino’s environs unfolds over diverse planes and elevations: a blurred glimpse of the city at dusk; the ramparts; the Ducal Palace with its distinctive twin turrets at once daunting and harmless as a kids’ castle in a playground. All joined together by scaffolding, work in progress. Likewise, an idyllic river plays out visually in a sequence shot with groups of bathers on the brink of enkindling narratives, the views stretching as far as the eye can see with dawn breaking into perfection on a summer’s day. Later, in the waning light, a hut serving no known purpose swells from the most mundane of images to a poignant detail.