Mandragola 2015

Roberto Ferri's "Mandragola" is painted with oils, using subdued hues and tones that give it an otherworldly, surreal quality. I see an artist who’s thinking about the old masters and the new possibilities for figuration. The pale, nude figure is not just lying there; she's entangled with plant life, a mandragola, suggesting a strange transformation. I imagine Ferri layering thin glazes, building up the form bit by bit, allowing the light to play across the surface, creating depth and shadow. It reminds me a bit of some pre-Raphaelite paintings, but with a dark, modern twist. Is it about vulnerability? About the boundaries between nature and the self? And that plant springing from her, is she birthing it? Or is she being invaded? Ultimately, Ferri is in conversation with the history of painting and the power of myth, offering his own interpretation. His painting invites us to contemplate the ambiguous nature of the image and the emotional resonance that lingers.