Offering a surrealist impression of the traditional methodology associated with portraiture, Patricio Cassinoni presents an exciting and innovative selection of works this autumn. Commencing on October 18th, the Instituto Cervantes will feature a two-week exhibition showcasing Fantastic Portraits & Visual Haikus – a multi-dimensional project developed by Dublin-based photographer Cassinoni. The exhibit will house 22 digital prints on archival paper. Taken over a two-year period, the images have been overlaid with mineral pigments, demonstrating Cassinoni’s stark take on modern portraiture.
The exhibition will deal with duality in a multitude of ways and is split into two distinct parts. Retratos Fantásticos is the first portion of the exhibition. Here, Cassinoni challenges traditional displays of portraiture through an exploration of characters edging on the surreal. His subjects confront the typical portrayal of the face through avant-garde means, tapping into Cassinoni’s creativity as a modern visual artist. The graphic depiction of a person through the lens of another is of great interest to the artist, who endeavours to explore the various ways one can be delineated through photography.
Visual Haikus is the second component of Cassinoni’s project. The artist elevates a minimalist display of visual poetry by reinventing traditional Japanese haikus with his own commentary on the unconscious mind. This is the ideal supplement to Retratos Fantásticos, as “simple and specific forms” bring to light the beauty of Cassinoni’s unconventional portraits.
Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and trained in photography at the Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas, Cassinoni has worked alongside various prominent artists, and his collections have been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Buenos Aires and across Europe. Having relocated to Dublin in 2007, Cassinoni has continued to develop his professional skills in photography and painting.
More recently, combining 20 years of experience as a commercial photographer, Cassinoni now hosts lighting workshops at his studio on Capel St on a monthly basis. For his upcoming Dublin exhibition, Cassinoni’s work is being held in the exhibition hall of the Instituto Cervantes. The institute is located very near Trinity in Lincoln House, and admission is free.
