01/06/2026
MyMicroGallery is pleased to present Oculus, a solo exhibition by American artist Frank Mann, showcasing for the first time in Milan a significant selection of works from his most recent body of paintings.
In our time, the eye is undoubtedly the sensory organ most intensely stimulated. We live immersed in a continuous flow of images that capture, direct, and often overwhelm our gaze. It is precisely this centrality of vision that inspires the exhibition's title: Oculus, the Latin word for "eye," but also the circular opening in classical architecture that allows light to pe*****te matter and enter space.
For Frank Mann, however, Oculus is not merely a reference to the organ of sight or an investigation into the physiological mechanisms of vision. His research focuses instead on the poetic and perceptual qualities that emerge at the very moment an image takes shape. Painting becomes a place where light, color, and memory intertwine, transforming visual experience into a mental and emotional process.
The works in the Oculus series are the result of research developed over many years. Circular vortices, fluid lines, and expanding fields of color generate immaterial spaces in which light fragments and recomposes itself. Interpenetrating universes, particles that seem to release energy, and perceptual thresholds where contours dissolve open vision to uncertain and evocative dimensions.
At the center of Mann's work lies a fundamental question: what is perception, really? In painting, perception forms the bridge between what appears on the surface of the canvas and what takes place in the observer's mind. Reality is never received in a neutral way; every image is filtered through memory, experience, and emotion. For this reason, the artist does not seek to represent the visible world, but rather to make tangible the very process of seeing.
The works on view emerge from layers of color that generate autonomous forms through intuitive and experimental procedures. The images do not derive from the representation of an external subject, but from an internal, purely artistic model that leaves room for imagination and unpredictability. The rich and sensual painted surface thus becomes the place where the act of vision is externalized and made concrete.
The immersive experience proposed by Oculus invites reflection on the very nature of images and their capacity to shape our perception of reality. In Mann's paintings, there is no emptiness: every space is traversed by energy, light, and possibility. What appears on the canvas is the result of an ongoing dialogue between the artist's inner image and its visible manifestation. To these two perspectives, a third is inevitably added: that of the viewer, who is called upon to see, interpret, and remember.
Frank Mann is an American artist whose work focuses on themes of vision and visual perception. He has exhibited internationally in major venues in New York, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Rome, participating in exhibitions across six continents. His work has been featured in numerous international encyclopedias and reference publications dedicated to contemporary art, including 2,000 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the Twentieth Century, The Biographical Encyclopedia of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, The International Dictionary of Artists, Internationale Kunst Heute, and Who's Who in the World.
In the Oculus series, the artist also draws inspiration from the architecture of the Pantheon in Rome, one of his most important aesthetic references. The oculus of the celebrated Roman dome becomes a metaphor for light, knowledge, and the act of perception—elements that run throughout his entire body of work.
Frank Mann lives and works between New York City and the Hudson Valley, New York.
Catalogue available at the gallery.
For information:
Stefania Carrozzini
[email protected]
www.mymicrogallery.com
Opening Hours:
June 10–30, by appointment only
Tel. +39 338 430 5675
