Thomas Berra

Thomas Berra (Desio, 1986) lives and works in the Cosmos.

Berra works with painting starting with the traditional technique of painting on paper or canvas of large and small format, and then expanding to different media such as curtains or walls, creating works with a dreamlike and immersive character. The starting point of his current artistic practice is a research on the plant world developed in the cycle In Praise of the Vagabond (2015-ongoing): drawing inspiration from the essay of the same name by French landscape architect and philosopher Gilles Clement, his work translates into a kind of apologia for “weeds” that aims to restore dignity to these plants perennially excluded from botany and the nobler arts. The plant world becomes the backdrop for mystical landscapes, animated by subjects that seem to come from an enchanted fairy-tale world in which man is at one with nature, in a sense of perfect communion: along with barely hinted at characters, subtle and enigmatic figures that seem to belong to an enchanted and timeless world, Clement’s weeds conquer surfaces, contributing to a personal and intimate imagery that remains suspended. The dream – of Fellini’s memory – is a fundamental element of the artist’s work, and strong is the reference to The Book of Dreams by the great director from which he drew, blurring the boundary between reality and imagination. A quest that celebrates and loves the often neglected weeds that grow without a home: they take over – again – the spaces inhabited by man, to coexist and make their presence appreciated, thus creating an ideal world in which man and nature coexist. Not just unwanted and invasive plants, but symbols of resistance and resilience. They thrive in the interstices, in the forgotten spaces between urban structures, demonstrating their ability to adapt and survive even in hostile conditions. Berra’s ability to engage with space and create well-rounded installations is at the heart of his latest projects. Berra, making a series of spatial interventions such as wall paintings or installations with hand-painted curtains, creates immersive environments in which the visitor is invited not only to enter, but to pause and spend time, as if transported to another dimension and invited to reflection.

—

Thomas Berra studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Among his major exhibitions: Angels – Cinquant’anni di Storie del Pastificio Cerere curated by Marcello Smarrelli, Pastificio Cerere, Rome (group show) / Cremona Contemporanea – Art Week 2024, Cremona / Pittura Italiana oggi, curated by Damiano Gulli, Triennale Milan / In quel camminare dove i piedi ti portano, curated by Elisabetta Barisoni, Cà Pesaro, Venice (solo) / Vorrei una casa al mare ma dipingo solo montagne, UNA Galleria, Piacenza (solo) / Usva Utu Sumu, Zazà Ramen, Milan (solo) / Katso Merta: alle volte mi scordo di guardare il mare, Kuja Gallery, Helsinki (solo)/ FIUR curated by Ivan Quaroni, Museo civico Magazzini del Sale, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena (solo)/ Tree Time curated by Andrea Lerda, Museo della Montagna, Turin / So long (Arrivederci), Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Rome / Tutti dobbiamo dei soldi al vecchio sarto di Toledo curated by UNA, Spazio Leonardo, Milan (solo)/ THOMAS, Room Galleria, Milan (solo) / 81⁄2, Spazio 1929, Lugano (solo) / Crises and rises, Palazzo delle Stelline, Milan / CIAO, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, USA / Casabarata (solo – result of a residency in Tangier, Morocco), Banca Sistema, Milan. In 2022 he won the ArtVerona Premio Arte Museo award. In 2018 Thomas was among the finalists for the Cairo Prize and in 2017 he won the 6artist prize and was in residence at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Rome and Schafhof – European House of Art Upper Bavaria, Freising, Germany. In 2014 he founded Subculture fanzine, a collective publishing project exhibited at Edicola Radetzky, Milan; in 2013 he won the Unicredit prize with a solo show at Superstudio Più, Milan.