4TH JUNE – 3RD JULY, 2010

Holster Projects is pleased to present Los Angeles-based artist Mattia Biagi’s first UK solo exhibition. In Recognize Your Spiritual Need, Biagi presents a new body of work including large-scale sculptures and installations, as well as neons and multi-media works continuing the artist’s use of tar as his medium.

Intrigued by a generational trend towards self-perceived liberalism that is often accompanied by a paradoxical close-mindedness towards religion, Biagi’s tar-dripped sculptures presented in Recognize Your Spiritual Need call for a re-examining of contemporary spirituality, or the lack thereof. In these works, Biagi examines his perception of the potential foibles of a society whose only firmly grounded belief seems to be materialism though the use of traditional religious images and icons in works such as Jesus Save Me. Biagi’s message is universal, without distinction of races, ethnicities, or religions. The exhibition does not promote any dogma or any particular belief but conveys the artist’s positive message of hope.

Born in Italy and living in working in LA, Biagi’s art covers issues from war to materialism in the artist’s study of his own personal journey. Recent exhibitions solo exhibitions include Rose Like a Phoenix From The Ashes, Anna Kustera, New York 2008. Biagi has exhibited internationally and has received critical attention from publications such as Art in America and Artforum.