As an actor, Mario Cei has always done public readings of poems. Hence, there is a defined cultural tendency, where a certain classicism on the research for the ‘rare detail’ prevails. This is mirrored by his parallel activity of drawer, painter and, mostly, sculptor: due to the convincingly serious quality of its results, sculpting is far from being just a hobby for Cei, despite the small amount of creations he has done so far. The range of subjects covers the great Greek myths, which represents also basic and lasting psychological human cases. The bronze sculpted group of the intercourse between an unconscious King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta is resolved with wild, almost shouted, dynamism, in the intertwining bodies and with skilfully multiplied points of view. Fractures, meaningful gapes of the limbs, precious shades and veiled colours pays homage to the “unfinished” of the modern sculpture, a hint to materialism, which features most informal paintings, and in opposition to the Baroque of the concept of unity in the composition. The preparatory sketches reveal sympathies for the mannerism of Tuscany, but also a taste for the allusion, the foreshortening, the faded, shows how Mario Cei is far from revival, trying instead to quote the past in a very modern way. Walter Schönenberger for POVOLETTO 97 ARTETEATRO

As an actor, Mario Cei has always done public readings of poems. Hence, there is a defined cultural tendency, where a certain classicism on the research for the ‘rare detail’ prevails. This is mirrored by his parallel activity of drawer, painter and, mostly, sculptor: due to the convincingly serious quality of its results, sculpting is far from being just a hobby for Cei, despite the small amount of creations he has done so far. The range of subjects covers the great Greek myths, which represents also basic and lasting psychological human cases. The bronze sculpted group of the intercourse between an unconscious King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta is resolved with wild, almost shouted, dynamism, in the intertwining bodies and with skilfully multiplied points of view. Fractures, meaningful gapes of the limbs, precious shades and veiled colours pays homage to the “unfinished” of the modern sculpture, a hint to materialism, which features most informal paintings, and in opposition to the Baroque of the concept of unity in the composition. The preparatory sketches reveal sympathies for the mannerism of Tuscany, but also a taste for the allusion, the foreshortening, the faded, shows how Mario Cei is far from revival, trying instead to quote the past in a very modern way. Walter Schönenberger, POVOLETTO 97 ARTETEATRO

As an actor, Mario Cei has always done public readings of poems. Hence, there is a defined cultural tendency, where a certain classicism on the research for the ‘rare detail’ prevails. This is mirrored by his parallel activity of drawer, painter and, mostly, sculptor: due to the convincingly serious quality of its results, sculpting is far from being just a hobby for Cei, despite the small amount of creations he has done so far. The range of subjects covers the great Greek myths, which represents also basic and lasting psychological human cases. The bronze sculpted group of the intercourse between an unconscious King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta is resolved with wild, almost shouted, dynamism, in the intertwining bodies and with skilfully multiplied points of view. Fractures, meaningful gapes of the limbs, precious shades and veiled colours pays homage to the “unfinished” of the modern sculpture, a hint to materialism, which features most informal paintings, and in opposition to the Baroque of the concept of unity in the composition. The preparatory sketches reveal sympathies for the mannerism of Tuscany, but also a taste for the allusion, the foreshortening, the faded, shows how Mario Cei is far from revival, trying instead to quote the past in a very modern way. Walter Schönenberger for POVOLETTO 97 ARTETEATRO