MY HEART IS BURSTING WITH LOVE FOR HER / MY HEART IS BURSTING WITH LOVE FOR HIM | JIMMY MILANI

Jimmy Milani (Savigliano, 1995) stands out for his intriguing approach to painting, which recalls elements of 1950s pop art. Milani explores the relationship between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality, developing an artistic language based on the interaction between the painted canvas and the frame that encloses it, which becomes not just an integral part but rather an identity-defining element of the artwork itself.

Milani’s goal is to lead the viewer into a dimension parallel to reality, where his artworks take center stage.
A significant example of this approach can be seen in the pieces My heart is bursting with love for her and My heart is bursting with love for him, created with mixed media and conceived as a diptych. These two artworks, almost mirror images of each other, feature a central canvas with a black heart painted on it, framed by shadowy tongues that form various profiles—a face, a flower, a butterfly, a beast. In the background, pastel-colored rays radiate outward from the center. However, the true distinctive element of the two artworks lies in their frames: two black silhouettes cut from forex, shaped as human figures—specifically, a man on the left and a woman on the right—positioned moving in opposite directions.

This kind of shaped forex frame has now become a signature feature of Milani’s artistic language, recurring in many of his works.
What this type of installation highlights is a careful and thoughtful reflection on the exhibition space, aimed at utilizing the natural layout of the walls. My heart is bursting with love for her and My heart is bursting with love for him are, in fact, hung on two adjacent walls, very close to the shared corner: the artworks engage in dialogue with each other while remaining formally separate. United yet divided, this arrangement embraces the concept of the diptych, simultaneously expressing the paradox of deep yet unattainable love—a recurring theme in the most famous and tragic literary classics.

Jimmy Milani
My heart is bursting with love for her / My heart is bursting with love for him, 2020
Shaped black forex, acrylics on canvas, each one 130 x 130 cm / (canvas) 30 x 40 cm
Installation view at “Gli Impermeabili”, OwO, Milan, September 23 – October 31, 2020
Courtesy private collection and the artist

19/10/24