Francesca Sganzerla
Zurich, CH
Contemporary artist with a multicultural upbringing working with abstract painting and installation
Message
Born in Italy, Francesca Sganzerla grew up between Nigeria, Norway, Vietnam, Egypt, Italy, the USA, and Mexico. Since 2002 she lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. This itinerant upbringing shaped a visual language that is both cosmopolitan and intimate, attentive to how places collect in memory and become material for painting.
One of her most significant projects is the installation Bunker/Chapel at the Venice Arsenale, Spazio Thetis, produced in collaboration with Michela Rizzo Gallery and presented in the context of the 52nd International Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. By maintaining the outer space in its original form, while transforming the inner space into a meditative and sacred place with a gold-leaf dome, Sganzerla transformed the symbolic perception of a second world war bunker, concentrating on a universal spiritual dimension.
Besides her exhibitions, Francesca has regularly donated works to the “La Tua Opera per un Bambino” charity auction in support of the Benedetta D’Intino Foundation, which provides free assistance to children with communication disabilities and psychological distress.
For the past two years, her paintings have been exhibited as part of the Zurich Film Festival program in the Folium lounge.
Statement
My work seeks a language of color and texture that carries both calm and energy. Beneath a contemplative and tranquil quality of my paintings at first glance, there is a sense of urgency that manifests through thick textures, and scratches. I think of paint as a way to hold time and space: each layer carries traces of memory and story, building up on the canvas over time. Through texture and depth, my work suggests spaces that extend beyond the surface, inviting refuge and reflection, an opportunity to pause and reconsider how we experience what we see.