Alex Colard

ABOUT the artist

Gianni Politi was born in 1986 in Rome, where he lives and works today. His practice, mainly as a painter, is deeply rooted in both the classical and modern pictorial traditions of his native Italy, and his work strives to narrate the struggle of being a contemporary painter today.

ABOUT the exhibition

The best paint brushes are made of the bristle which grows on the animal’s back—it is of sharp and shiny steel.

The animal grows up sniffing out its enemies. Not having any defenses it has learned, over the course of millenniums, to brush its steely fur against the hard walls of the waterfall rocks to sharpen it.

The animal protects itself from everything except the human creature and its unquenchable desire for possession.

The human creature lures the animal into a trap, and with patience and expertise extracts the bristle needles one by one; the human has learned that the only way to lay down oils and pigments is by using the glistening hairs of the wild beast.

The painter needs the brush to narrate a world that is personal and one that is of all humans. At times painters use the brush as a weapon to wound each other in their ongoing battle as rivals…who knows why they seem to always end up as such.

As for me—and I use many brushes—I strive to slay the other monster that lives inside of me.

—Gianni

ABOUT the gallery

Public Service was founded in 2022 by Peter Gerdman, Aleksandar Stojanovski and Axel Söderberg. Sprung from a shared passion for the mechanisms of the art world and collecting patterns, they want to accompany a new generation of Scandinavian collectors in engaging with highly talented artists, from around the world, and at a pivotal moment in their careers. 

Public Service is dedicated to shaping an innovative program with a global outlook and central to the gallery’s program is to showcase the most exciting young- to mid-career international artists to a Scandinavian audience.

Peter brings international experience from leading art world institutions, having spent most of his professional career in the U.K., while Aleksandar holds vast knowledge on the know-hows within the Swedish art scene, after several years at a leading Stockholm-based gallery, and Axel brings diverse experience from the worlds of Business and Design.

Situated in a former bank, Public Service opened its brand new gallery space on Östermalmstorg to the public in January 2023, following an extensive renovation of the premises, which housed Handelsbanken for over 100 years. This conversion will create two floors of exhibition space, spread over more than 300 sqm, designed by the Stockholm-based architectural studio Halleroeds.

Inspired by a generational shift in the global art world, the Public Service team wishes to establish a creative and multi-faceted platform that will facilitate an increasingly collaborative way of partnering with institutions, artists, and curators alike. https://public-service.com/

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