Ironico Onirico: my first solo exhibition is almost here!

I'm incredibly excited to unveil "Ironico Onirico", my first solo exhibition, which will take place from August 5th to 10th in Menaggio, by Lake Como.

It features 40 selected works, including pastels and drawings in graphite, charcoal, and ink – a significant milestone marking five years of my artistic journey.

Practical informations:

Opening Hours:

Tuesday-Friday: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Saturday-Sunday: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM / 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Vernissage:

Tuesday, August 5th, 6:00 PM

Location:

Sala Mostre Comunale

Piazza Garibaldi 7, Menaggio (CO)

Press Release

You can download the full press release right here , or find the link at the bottom of the page

Menaggio-Lake Como – The exhibition "Ironico Onirico," Omar Tigrini's first solo show, will open on Wednesday, August 5, 2025, at 6:00 PM. The artist will be present to introduce his work and meet the public.

The exhibition documents five years of artistic exploration (2020-2025) through forty works, tracing the evolution from his early graphite, ink, and charcoal pieces – works that already reveal his technical mastery and narrative ability – to his dry pastel on paper creations, which now constitute almost all of his output. Art director and graphic designer for over twenty years, Omar Tigrini has concurrently developed a personal artistic language that he defines as “Ironic/Oneiric” — two sides of the same anagrammatic coin (at least, they are in Italian).

The ironic-oneiric poetics

Omar Tigrini's artistic exploration uses irony as a key to interpreting reality and human nature, while the dreamlike element transports the observer into a dimension without space and time. The artist constructs a figurative universe where everyday life transforms into a theater of dreams: from the grotesque portrait of Darwin disguised as a monkey in Charles, to the unsettling atmospheres of REM Phase; from glimpses of Valsolda in Klaus’ holydays, to contemporary allegories like Exchange a sign of peace, where doves and grenades mutually contaminate each other in a reflection on the peace-war dichotomy. These are just a few examples of what can be found in the exhibition.

"Tigrini operates like a twenty-first-century director who has a vast wealth of visual precedents to draw upon and update, building bridges that connect seemingly distant moments and atmospheres," emphasizes Massimiliano Ferrario, Researcher in Contemporary Art History at the University of Insubria and Director of the Research Center for Contemporary Art History (CRiSAC), who authored the critical essay in the exhibition catalog.

Central to the artist's production is the figure of the knight, an archetype of the contemporary human being who "wears metaphorical armor to face life's daily battles," to quote the artist's own words. The Valsolda territory constantly emerges as the natural setting for his compositions, confirming what David West, an American painter, writer, and performer who encountered Tigrini's work during an artist residency in 2022, observes: "Omar’s work is very much tied to place and experience. It is a vision of the world that is both contemporary and particularly magical."

The Catalog and Recognitions

Significant recognition of Tigrini's artistic quality came from the Museo Casa Pagani in Castello (Valsolda), which recently acquired the work Il cavaliere a Castello (30x42 cm, ink on paper, 2020). This painting was exhibited at the same venue in 2022 during the collective exhibition "Pittori valsoldesi della contemporaneità."

In 2025, the artist was officially invited to the Second Edition of the Maestro Biennale in Monopoli (BA), dedicated to the theme "EXTinction | Save," with his work Charles, which invites reflection on the relativity of progress in perfect harmony with the Biennale's message.

On the occasion of the exhibition, the publication "Omar Tigrini Ironico Onirico - Selected artworks 2020-2025" will be presented, featuring critical essays by Massimiliano Ferrario and David West and numerous illustrated plates, offering a comprehensive overview of the author's artistic evolution.

Download the press release