ALFREDO RAPETTI MOGOL

Milano, 1962

“Without writing, we would be nothing; we wouldn’t have self-awareness,” says Alfredo Rapetti. And it’s no coincidence that the word is the common root of his two professions, as a songwriter and a painter.
Using the technique of drypoint in his paintings, Rapetti gives value to the act of handwriting. His “hieroglyphics,” deconstructed marks that stand out at the center of monochromatic works in a not immediately readable order, are almost engravings on the pictorial film, creating a deeply personal yet universal alphabet. Here, the word seems to be emptied of its original sense and function, but it actually acquires a universal significance when given the right weight. The words know how to reconstruct hidden meanings, guided by the viewer’s capacity for empathy when reading the artwork.
Just as in painting, in jewelry-making, the artist starts with the signifier to give life to an unusual and personal alphabet, using different graphic effects (shiny/dull, flat/protruding) and combinations made possible by pairs (earrings, cufflinks, etc.) to recreate, in three dimensions as well, a language shaped anew. In addition to linguistic games, the physical presence of the person creates further disorientation between meaning and signifier. Simply wearing the letters “I” and “O” on both earlobes can lead to a sudden rediscovery of the centrality of one’s being. Or by rotating the wrist, one can identify the word “anima” (soul) amid an apparently random set of letters. Liberated from the gravity of its primitive function, the graphic sign becomes, even in jewelry, an emotional vehicle for those who have the sensitivity to read its hidden power.

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BIO
Born in Milan in 1961, Rapetti Mogol is a grandson and son of art. The pseudonym Cheope is used not to be associated with his father, who in turn had chosen the pseudonym Mogol not to be associated with his father Marianus. Cheope derives from the ruler on whom the pyramid of Cheope was then buried, hence the word
himself. In 1983 he became a lyricist with the song The guitarist, sung by Ivan Graziani. Over the years he has worked with Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Mina, Adriano Celentano, Alessandra Amoroso, Boomdabash, Michele Bravi, Arisa, Noemi, Giusy Ferreri, J-Ax, Fedez, Francesca Michelin, Annalisa. He teaches at the Master in Music Business of the LUISS University of Rome. In addition to being a lyricist, he is an accomplished painter.
There were numerous solo and group exhibitions that saw him as a protagonist. His curriculum includes solo exhibitions at the KMG Foundation in Berlin; at the Fondazione Ideazione in Rome; at Villa Olmo in Como; at the Albergo delle Poveri in Palermo; at the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula; at the Maretti Gallery in Montecarlo and at the Ca’ D’oro in Rome. The group exhibitions include: Grand Palais in Paris; MAR’S in Moscow; Palazzo Strozzi in Florence; Museo per l’Arte Straniera in Riga; Salone D’Autunno in Paris; Museo Permanente in Milan; Biennale di Venezia 2007; Biennale di Venezia 2001.