Federico Luger

China Made in Italy, 2008

Gabriele di Matteo’s work as a painter highlights the tensions between copy and original, as well as the notion of the author in contemporary art.

Besides exploring art history in his objects, subjects, and strategies, Di Matteo’s China Made in Italy addresses the issue of (re)production from a global and political perspective. This series of paintings consists of black-and-white copies of paintings by Chinese superstar artists currently valued at millions, but in this case executed by Italian artisans. Gabriele di Matteo’ works shake our common conceptions of originality, branding and luxury, while at the same time point out the accelerated dynamics currently reshaping the global art world.