Thinkspace Projects is thrilled to present a new solo exhibition from Italian artist, Millo. This is Millo’s fourth solo show and U.S. solo debut. Beginning on May 1st, the painter and muralist will bring several of his works to the Thinkspace gallery in West Adams, effectively bringing a bit of new Italian culture to Los Angeles.
‘At the Crack of Dawn’ is an exhibition built around the ephemeral point in time just before waking when everything is whimsical and the lines between dreams and reality are blurred.
“Just before the beginning of a new day, there’s a fleeting moment where dreams remain alive. All my new works come from there, as unconscious feelings passed through the haze of the shadow till the glimpse of light, shaping what is silent.”
The circumstances of this past year have played a huge part in the creation of this show. The initial shock of being scared and stuck gave Millo time to reconnect with his own imagination, and focus on what people globally were simultaneously doing: dreaming.
This exhibition, from internationally renowned muralist Millo, is a collection of works in his signature predominantly black and white style. With detailed monochrome cityscapes and color pops to highlight the subjects, Millo creates the moment just before waking in a series of breathtaking scenes. The friendly inhabitants of each scene float above their urban settings displaying a blend of dream and reality. He crafts giant characters who are out of scale and often clumsy, confined to an urban habitat that forces them to invent new ways to live.
With close to 100 murals still riding around the world, Millo has become an icon, known for his simple black and white lines, dashes of color when necessary, and architectural components. This show marks Millo’s U.S. solo debut. Thinkspace is honored to display this collection from one of Europe’s most renowned muralists.
‘At the Crack of Dawn’ opens May 1, 2021.
On view until May 22, 2021 at Thinkspace Projects.
About Millo
Millo is an Italian street artist, born Francesco Camillo Giorgino in 1979. He is known for his predominantly black and white large-scale murals found the world over. His artworks are characterized by child-like figures, simple monochromatic lines combined with a dash of color, and elements of architecture. Millo has taken part in several street art festivals and NGO art events all around the world.
His murals can be seen in USA, Canada, Russia, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Polynesia, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, UK, Netherland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark , Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Belarus, Hungary, Ukraine, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, and Italy.
His works have been exhibited in Los Angeles, Chicago, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Florence and more. His works on canvas are also part of two permanent exhibitions : Urban Nation Museum of Contemporary Art in Berlin, and Straat Museum for Graffiti and Street Art in Amsterdam.
“Italian artist Francesco Camillo Giorgino, known as Millo, paints large-scale murals that feature friendly inhabitants exploring their urban setting. He uses simple black and white lines with dashes of color when necessary, and often incorporates elements of architecture into his multi-story paintings.”
C. Jobson, Colossal.
“Sometimes coyly surreal, other times borderline terrifying”
K. Brooks, Huffington Post
Artist Statement: AT THE CRACK OF DAWN
This is gonna be my 4th solo show, the first one in the United States.
I’m known for my large-scale murals, over the past decade I’ve been invited to paint for street art festivals, No profit and non-governative organizations around the world.
I had the chance during my career to investigate different aspects and themes through the creations of my murals. Most of them deal with the will of empowering our feelings and our behavior towards each other and the whole system we live in.
My giant characters always out of scale and a bit clumsy, live in a chaotic urban habitat that gives them no easy space to move or interact and at the same time, forces them to invent new ways to live.
Beyond this visible explanation, there’s in each work a multiple layers of meanings, interpretations and messages.
If the urban setting it’s a hidden critic to nowadays cities, inhuman and gray, the characters instead play our role by adapting themselves in a landscape avulsed and difficult, rediscovering step by step the pureness of simple acts.
“At the crack of dawn” uses the same language but to speak about the unconscious.
It’s undeniable that what we all have experienced has affected not only my way of living but also my way of thinking and expressing my feelings.
The initial shock of being merely stuck and scared, gave me the time to recollect the topics of my imagination and to focus deeply on what we were all simultaneously doing: dreaming.
What stands beside this process totally captured my thoughts and drove me along a new expressive path.
“At the crack of dawn” unfold my unconscious images passed through the nights.
When the gloom of night and the early lights are out, what am I bringing to the outer word? Memories, dazed emotions, deepest desires, fears, hopes.
All in a mix that looks like the bside, the other face of any medal.
