Giulia Andreani: L’improduttiva

Giulia Andreani presents “L’improduttiva“, a cohesive exhibition of new works – large-scale paintings and watercolours – conceived for the South Room of Collezione Maramotti.

The project grows out of collective memories and fragments of history, often at risk of being forgotten. She transforms these elements into complex pictorial compositions, visual collages constructed through correspondences. Andreani‘s unique research approach involves absorbing historical images and interpreting them through her artistic lens, revealing hidden figures and forgotten stories, especially related to women’s experiences throughout history.

In many of her works, she – who defines herself as a feminist, painter / researcher – raises questions about how women have been seen and represented in different eras. Her practice of “painting with photographs” juxtaposes elements drawn from real pictures with other, imaginary details, melding them together as a new iconographic whole, bringing back to life latent tensions and figures from the past, putting them into surreal Payne grey contexts, presenting a new disturbing look at history. The conceptual starting point for “L’improduttiva” was the iconographic material found in various archives of Reggio Emilia. Through these materials, Andreani explored the city’s historical and socio-political context, with a particular emphasis on the concepts of exile and imprisonment, which are closely intertwined with the history of women.

One key work, “L’improduttiva“, takes its name from a 1940s photograph of female students at a tailoring school in Reggio Emilia. A seamstress’s defiant smile in the photo becomes a focal point, prompting viewers to reflect on women’s emancipation and the power of deviation.