Weserhalle is pleased to present “El canto del volcán,” a duo show featuring a series of new paintings and ceramics by Argentine artists Ornella Pocetti and Marcelo Canevari. The exhibition invites the viewer on a journey into the individual characteristic visual language of the artists, as well as an exploration of their combined artistic expression.

Upon entering the gallery, the largest canvas, the source of inspiration and the genesis of creativity, immediately sets an evocative stage. It conjures a surreal ambiance reminiscent of a David Lynch or Quentin Dupiex film, blending disparate elements of characters, landscapes, and actions. These characters exist beyond any specific time, exuding an innate calmness amid a backdrop of volcanic chaos and a harsh, unforgiving terrain. This juxtaposition of certainty and absurdity challenges artistic norms, as Ornella and Marcelo forge new rules. Their boundary-pushing endeavors reveal a common theme: a haunting, almost supernatural presence lurking, poised to strike.

Marcelo Canevari’s artistic career began when he trained and worked as an illustrator of Argentine nature, participating in scientific dissemination projects at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences and the National Parks Administration. Art historical references to medieval paintings, particularly the intricate and complex compositions by Hieronymus Bosch, and how they draw the viewer into every corner of the work, become apparent in his style.

In Canevari’s paintings, he has always maintained a close connection to Argentine flora and fauna and the many landscapes of the country. His depictions of nature evoke the presence of a living organism with their rich details, which from afar might seem idyllic but up close seem to threaten to devour the characters that wander through them. Canevari describes that “the intensity of nature is especially present in a Jungle. It shows an excess of life and how everything is struggling to survive.” His characters sometimes are part of this struggle, as in “Hunter’s Hour,” and sometimes they seem strangely detached, as in “Night Butterfly,” prompting the question of whether they actually inhabit this space or if they are entities from a different reality, resigned to their fate.

Ornella Pochetti has an almost opposing approach to her work process. Pochetti describes how she has lived in Buenos Aires, a vibrant, pulsating city her entire life, and she did not have such a close bond to nature. She draws more inspiration from movies, mostly sci-fi and horror, and describes how she sees these genres as especially feminist in the context of the 1993 published book “Monstrous Feminine.”

This theory dissects media’s portrayal of women, delving into societal fears and desires related to female power and sexuality. This sense of discomfort is utilised in her work to engage the viewer and draw them in. Pochetti’s compositions are inspired by a film still aesthetic, and the fragmentation or overlapping of frames points towards her interest in the comic book genre. The main characters in her work are almost exclusively female. They are fearless, seductive, and unapologetic and seem to transcend time and space. They are inspired by women from her immediate surroundings and merged with strong female characters from ancient mythologies.

The two artistic visions are merged time and time again, creating a dialogue between their formal approach and subject matter. The result is that each canvas opens a window to another realm, offering the spectator the possibility to join the narration and wander, and maybe even get lost in it.

Ornella Pocetti was born in Buenos Aires in 1991. In 2010 she entered the University of national arts in Argentina (UNA). She will have her first solo show in Maimi later this year. In 2022 she took part in the Fountainheads Residency in Miami, Florida. Her latest exhibitions include Songs of Hecate, at Pictorum gallery London in 2023, What I tell my body Usina del arte in Argentina, in 2022 and Whims at La causa gallery in Madrid, Spain, 2022.

Marcelo Canevari was born in Buenos Aires in 1984. He trained and worked as an illustrator of Argentine nature, participating in scientific dissemination projects at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences and the National Parks Administration. His most recent exhibitions include Lo que importa es la piel, Galería Praxis in Argentina in 2022 and Fantasma with MartinKazanietzin Alimentación General, Argentina in 2019. In 2021 he was awarded Premio Nacional de Pintura Banco Central.