Louise Giovanelli
PROJECT
Louise Giovanelli’s theatrical works explore the idea of painting as both medium and form of representation. Frequently returning to the image of the curtain, Giovanelli is interested in its presence in both ‘low’ and ‘high’ cultural spaces, from theatres and ballrooms to strip clubs and function rooms. She draws parallels between these spaces and examines the line between the mundane and the spiritual. Curtains mark a threshold: something is always both in front and behind, revealing and concealing yet always holding the promise of something beyond. As Giovanelli says, ‘They are seductive to look at but … the curtains reject everything – they will never open.’
The acquisition of this artist’s work is supported by an anonymous donor
ABOUT
Through her paintings Louise Giovanelli relates the contemporary to the historic and explores the tension between representation and materiality. As a student of art history, she has studied the techniques and history of painting, frequently referencing and replicating them in her practice. Born in London and based in Manchester, she studied at the Manchester School of Art (UK) and the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Giovanelli had a major solo exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield (UK) in late 2024 and has also held solo exhibitions at Moon Grove, Manchester, and the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at the FLAG Art Foundation, New York (US), the Hayward Gallery, London (UK), and the AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (Netherlands).