Inner Portraits

Inner Portraits are 1000 profiles, 1000 characters, yet one only. They are variations of the soul, containers of emotions, fears, experiences, thoughts. Within us infinite ways of being coexist, in these portraits everyone can find a reminder of their state of mind, even if only temporarily.
Born as a total amusement, a liberating gesture, they are inner maps, characters with their own precise personality, albeit changing depending on the observer.
Displayed in various exhibitions including two major solo shows, at the Milan Triennale and Superstudio, they are drawings on paper or canvas, drawn with pencil, marker, acrylic, but are also collages and large digital prints on canvas.
Sometimes they feature natural elements, such as trees, leaves, flowers, as an exhortation to use one’s head to return to being aware of and in tune with Nature. A thoughtful reflection on humanity’s need to return to “slow times,” abandoning the frenzy and hedonism of modern times, promoting more authentic personal relationships.

Laura Zeni is a Milanese artist graduated from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, under the guidance of Raffaele De Grada. Her work ranges from sculpture to painting, collage to photography, with incursions into design as well, in an incessant, tormented but at the same time joyful search for interpretation of the world. The common denominator of this heterogeneous production is mankind, with their solitude and uniqueness, and the continuous introspection that finds its highest point in nature, with its imaginary spirits and magnificence.

Since the 1980s, she has exhibited in several solo and group shows in Italy and abroad: the solo show in MyOwnGallery /Superstudio Più with Skira catalogue and the solo show at the Milan Triennale, both curated by Fortunato D’Amico; the group show at the Fortezza del Priamàr in Savona; the participation in the Italy-China Biennial at the Mastio della Cittadella in Turin and the group show at the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome.

Also of relevant importance are the exhibitions at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, at the former Oratorio della Passione of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Genoa Nervi curated by Fortunato D’Amico and Francesca Giubilei, a participation in the OPEN 20 Venice (alongside Yoko Ono, Nanda Vigo, Gillo Dorfles, Kengiro Azuma, Igor Mitoraj, among others) during the “Festival del Cinema – La Biennale di Venezia”, and a special project on the occasion of the Matera Capital of Culture 2019. One of her works also became part of the permanent collection of the Portofino International Sculpture Park Museum.

At the Florence Biennale 2021 she presented one of the most appreciated installations in collaboration with Maestro Ercole Pignatelli and the voice of Negramaro, Giuliano Sangiorgi.

She participated in several editions of Fuorisalone, collaborating with the companies Jannelli&Volpi, Wallpepper, Porcelanosa, Facchinetti Design and with well-renowned starred chefs who adopted her creations for their table mise en place.

Abroad she was present in solo and group exhibitions in London in several galleries, at Fiat Chrysler Motor Village UK, in Malmö and Berlin; she participated in the Red Dot Miami Art Week with Le Dame Art Gallery in London and exhibited in a group show at the Onishi Project in New York.

She currently lives and works in Milan, Italy.