The Breeder Gallery presents the solo exhibition of Italian artist, critic and publisher Lisa Ponti (1922-2019) organized in collaboration with Octagon (Milan), an exhibition space directed by artist Jacopo Mazzetti.

Opening: March 14, 2024, 7-9 p.m.

Lisa Ponti's career began at the popular design magazine Stile (1941-1947) before serving as editor-in-chief (1948-1966) and deputy director (1966-1986) of the architectural magazine Domus, where she was responsible for the magazine's art pages during critical post-war period. The magazine was very influential at the time and distinguished itself for maintaining long-term collaborations with artists, granting tributes and interviews to many prominent figures, from Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Yves Klein, Ettore Sottsass and Christo to Robert Wilson, Tony Cragg, Arakawa & Gins and Basquiat.

While working for these two magazines, which were founded by her father, the internationally renowned architect Gio Ponti, she was instrumental in shaping a vibrant art and culture scene in post-war Italy.

Despite designing for others most of her life, Lisa Ponti was 70 years old when she first publicly presented her work as an artist, with a solo exhibition in 1992. Throughout her artistic career the style her and the way she approaches art have remained constant. His preferred medium, which never changed, was the 'utilitarian', universally standardized A4 paper: "It's a universal format, so the design knows where to land. The vast is reduced to the distance defined by a standard form. A4 tempts you to stay within limits".

The delicate lines and strokes that are at the core of her artistic expression give the designs a sense of whimsy and spontaneity that the artist seems to have preferred. Despite this, she never shied away from approaching diverse, sometimes melancholic subjects through her works. It is precisely this obvious and seemingly simplistic, almost childlike, nature of her "artless" compositions that makes them so interesting and charming. It is her innate ability to aim to portray complex feelings and emotions through the simplest of iconography. Every stroke and line of pen, pencil or marker serves a purpose, giving her work a calm and almost meditative sense of clarity that seems to escape the confines of A4 paper.