Mariage

Valerio Adami

Oversized, brilliantly hued compositions, whose subjects strike a delicate balance between the surreal and the intimately recognizable, are the hallmarks of Valerio Adami's graphic work. By the late 1970s he had adapted to the jewel tones that pervaded contemporary postmodernism, in flat planes of color purposefully devoid of any real depth or shadow. This style would ultimately inpire critics to compare him to Roy Lichtenstein and other Pop artists. However, Adami's use of simplified line and color fields belies his ultimate design: to render the recognizable into something slightly off, slightly bizarre, demanding that the viewer peer more closely to prove that their eyes don't deceive them.

Here, his use of the strangely fractured figures of a man and a monkey lend a surreal air to the work without entirely succumbing to the label. This is purposeful, and a consistent driver for Adami, who as recently as January of 2025 stated: "I always vigorously refused the appelation of pop."

At the age of ninety, Adami continues to work and exhibit. A retrospective of his work will be mounted at the Tornibouni Art Gallery in Paris from Jauary 23 through March 22 of 2025.