Hugo Galerie is proud to present Fontainebleau, a solo exhibition of new work by the French artist Patrick Pietropoli. This will be his eighth solo exhibition in New York.

Pietropoli is a contemporary exponent of vedute or cityscapes, taking as his subject not Venice or Delft, but Paris, as well as New York. If his work is celebrated, most recently at La Cittadella Museo Civico in Crema, Italy, it’s in part because he has updated the genre. Pietropoli captures more than a vista, his cityscapes are humanistic. He often takes the perspective of a flaneur, depicting unconventional locations and vignettes of daily life, which he sets in precise sensuous moments. More than a view, his paintings capture a feeling. Simultaneously, the city is represented in all its grandeur and fragility. Pietropoli, who studied at Science Po and taught history for six years, often references the great cities of the past, inviting the viewer to contemplate the present.

In this new collection Pietropoli continues his exploration of intimate cityscapes: a furtive view of a mother and son in a classic Parisian courtyard or a solitary figure crossing Place des Victoires, scenes that humanize the city, while elevating the quotidian; a quadriptych of 5th Avenue at different periods of the day, illustrating the centrality of sensation. The artist also turns his attention to windowed interiors, most notably of the Palace of Fontainebleau, where the view is no less present, but framed by the viewer. This often-overlooked historical landmark, just outside the center of Paris, is captured in all its baroque splendor. A hunting lodge and palace from the time of Louis VII to Napoleon III, Fontainebleau evokes France’s complex history.

Painting with a subtle, earthy palette, in oil on a base of gold, silver or copper leaf, Pietropoli gives a sense of permanence to ephemeral moments.

Patrick Pietropoli was born in Paris, France, in 1953. He began exhibiting his paintings and sculptures in 1983 following his studies in Political Science and Ancient History and a period of six years teaching history. Besides Paris, he has had solo exhibitions in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Montreal. The artist will be attend the opening reception on Saturday April 28 at Hugo Galerie.