Reda Group affirms its efforts in the promotion and appreciation of art in an event that is not to be missed. Reda Group is the main sponsor of an exhibit dedicated to “Il Grande Sacrificio” (The Great Sacrifice) by Italian artist Lorenzo Puglisi, open from April 3-28, 2019 at the Bramante Sacristy in the Santa Maria delle Grazie church in Milan. 500 years following the death of Leonardo da Vinci, Il Grande Sacrificio is both an homage and a reinterpretation of the masterpiece, The Last Supper, displayed in the basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The painting is oil on poplar panel and set within a dialog that the artist began seven years ago with renowned Italian artists and their most celebrated masterpieces. Puglisi’s work, curated by Giovanni Gazzaneo, is able to draw out from the black abyss figures, gestures, expressions and movements, brought to light with skillful strokes of white that reveal the faces of Christ and his apostles during The Last Supper. Il Grande Sacrificio is an open and richly dynamic work in which the artist illuminates expressions and movements that reach the spectator as fragments full of meaning and fascination.

Born in Biella in 1971, Lorenzo Puglisi has exhibited his works in Italy and abroad where in 2016 he was the protagonist of the Paintings exhibit curated by Mark Gisbourne at the Sobering gallery in Paris. We asked the artist several questions to better understand the meaning behind his work and his relationship with origins: Where did the inspiration for “Il Grande Sacrificio” come from? Some years ago, I was offered the opportunity to do a personal exhibit in Paris curated by Mark Gisbourne and this is how I was able to work on large-scale paintings. In my opinion, the most important work in Western painting is The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It is to this masterpiece that I dedicated my experiment of creating a version using my artistic style – a re-focusing of the of the image where the eye lingers, hands and faces, where human life appears with greater intensity.

In particular, da Vinci’s work is focused on interior impulses as seen in the apostles when the future betrayal is revealed in addition to a series of esoteric messages whose greatness and importance I can only infer… my attempt at painting goes in this direction, using the structure of The Last Supper filtered by my iconography. In the work, there is a strong contrast between light and darkness: what is the significance behind this choice? Light and darkness, white and black, the mystery in which we are immersed and of which we know nothing, day and night, life and death… the extremes of the human condition… an aesthetic vision of seduction from baroque painting, Rembrandt, Goya… Rather, I would hope that for an instant, the viewer asks himself about the meaning of all this – the only true raison d'être of any painting. What is your relationship with your hometown, Biella, and how much has this sense of belonging influenced your art? It is a beautiful place, rich with nature and life… at the base of the Pre-Alps, the Sanctuary of Oropa, silence… Art is an objective and a tool for Reda Group to convey messages, emotions and culture and this exhibit represents a fundamental occasion to support the arts and Made in Italy talent.