Antony Gormley : Drawing Space

MACRO
26 October 2010 - 6 February 2011

By Nicole Minatel


Most people who are familiar with Antony Gormley know him for his world-renowned sculptural projects that explore relationship of the human body to space, be it through smaller works made primarily of casts of his own figure or monumental public works such as the widely acclaimed Angel of the North. Few people, however, are familiar with the mental process Gormley undergoes every time he is to create one of his spatially explorative sculptures, which privileged visitors to the MACRO Rome can see from the 26th of October 2010 to the 6th of February 2011 in an exhibition entitled Drawing Space.
In this show, a large installation that encompasses two large rooms of the MACRO, over 80 drawings and four sculptures created by Gormley since 1981 take the viewer on a tour of the development of the artists’ thought process. This unfolding can be traced from (at a first glance) somewhat crude drawings, made primarily in black pen on paper, to gravity-defying geometrical sculptures that seem to float in space at each edge of the room.
The intimate drawings and lesser known sculptures present the viewer with a novel side to the artist, considered the foremost British sculptor of our time. Born in London in 1950, Gormley attended a number of prestigious art schools in the United Kingdom until his ascent to fame in the early 1990’s, which culminated in his reception of the Turner Prize in 1994 and an Order of the British Empire for his services to sculpture in 1997. These prizes brought international fame to the artist, who has not only been a part of solo and group shows all over the world but also has received commissions for major public works in cities such as London and New York. Nevertheless, Drawing Space is Gormley’s first exhibit in Italy.
With this in mind, curators Luca Massimo Barbero and Anna Moszynska went through a great deal of effort to create a clean, dynamic and easily digestible exhibit at the MACRO, focusing primarily on allowing the viewer to come into contact with an artist that is somewhat foreign to the Italian audience. Based almost entirely on drawings from the British Museum in London and the artist’s private collection, the show is indeed a pleasant introduction to the creational procedures of a man who is able to conjure and provoke self-inquiries about each person’s inner and outer self through his many sculptures. Determined to explore this theme, Gormley uses both abstract basic presentations of the human body – which receive an emotive facet through our own interpretations and personal responses to the metallic figures on display.
The presence of drawings furthers and validates Gormley’s artistic achievement, as through them he adds drawing to his obvious sculptural expertise. His technique is, understandably, as unique as his sculptural innovations, leading the unknowing viewer to assume he lacks draftsmanship skills. But any close look at the actual illustrations shows that this is completely wrong, as his distorted black and white men evoke an inexplicable emotion and understanding of our inexplicable yet fortunate randomness in physical world we dwell in. Thus, Antony Gormley’s work is poignant not because of any particular messages he sends out to the audience, but instead, because his work is a provocation, that inevitably leads each individual to think about the human condition both on the physical and emotional levels. Even though his work is simple and straightforward, deeper layers of meaning are clearly present, whether the viewer wishes to explore them in oneself or not.

Antonio Nocera
Museo dei Fori Imperiali
October 5- November 28 2010
http://www.mercatiditraiano.it/mostre_ed_eventi/mostre/oltre_il_nido_di_antonio_nocera

by Kirila Cvetkovska

Antonio Nocera’s exhibition “Beyond the Nest” occupies the Great Hall on the main body and the Militia Garden of Trajan’s Market, focusing on the idea of a “home” and its allegorical depiction by the image of a “nest”. There are 80 works (paintings, sculptures and installations) displayed, scrutinizing each aspect of the subject matter: from the search for an actual “home” to its “birth” and growth into one’s own place for a rescue. In fact, the nest is a place for settlement and warmth, but also a symbol of abandonment and alteration of someone’s needs.
Engaging in experimentation, Antonio Nocera (born in 1949, in Naples) works in various media- painting, sculpture and stage design. He uses diverse materials and is interested in working with leather, ceramic, bronze and all printing techniques. In addition, Nocera is mesmerized by the world of fairytales, reflecting them in his art works and exploring their deeper themes such as the transformation of weakness into strength or the one of poverty into wealth. He transmits the mysteries of life through his works of art, stimulating the viewers’ imagination and questioning the certainty of life itself.
“Beyond the Nest” transcends our essential priorities: the “home” and the “family”, but also the risk of losing them due to our constant yearnings for a better future and surrounding. The exhibition reveals all the stages in the creation of one’s own home, presented by the nest as a shelter and a sweet refuge. The first part of the show discloses the search for a place called home. It includes canvases painted in blue as a metaphor for a sea and a journey full of wandering without any clear direction. No certain “home” is present- there is only the individual’s craving for this place and its warm ambient. For instance, in Verso l’orizzonte (2007), there is an apparent identification of the sea and a nest is positioned on the horizon, isolated and distant. The broad sea conveys a feeling of solitude, whereas the nest suggests the need for care and protection, as an allegory of the “home”.
The next fraction of the exhibition includes sculptures of nests with birds, suggesting one’s primary settlement, delight and affection. Fuori dal nido (2010, bronze polychrome) is a simple nest with birds, exposing the significance of the family and the need for safety, reflected by the collectivity of the figures and their protective shelter.
Furthermore, Nocera presents the dynamics of the “home” and its vivid atmosphere, as the ultimate bliss of this particular setting. In BP (2010, installation- bronze, glass and iron), the artist delivers the concept of attachment to the family ambient and the mutual harmony between the individuals who live there. The installation contains a barrel, surrounded by red glass at the bottom and there is a big nest with birds on its top. All the forms are interrelated, exhibiting their reliance: material, but also emotional. Eventually, “home” is the place where everything is shared: from food and bed to fears, hopes and dreams.
The last part of the exhibition embraces the image of a woman, shown through canvases and sculptures. The conquest of motherhood and its importance in the kin relationship is reflected, but also the pride and dignity of the woman. Interogazione 2 (2010, bronze polychrome) is a statue of a woman, standing confident with a nest and birds on her head. This is an implication of the mother as the foundation of a stable home and family, full of desires and warmth. Additionally, it is also a definition of a certain human being through the idea of a affinity and belonging.
Antonio Nocera provides a lively story, exploring the idea of a loving surrounding, in its affectionate insights. By using metaphors such as the “nest” or the “woman”, he raises the vigor of the show, encouraging the viewers to discover the mystery of this matter. Nocera presents the certain habitat as a cultural trait, intensifying it to an emotional level. In the end, home is not only the material structure- it is the place for exchanging love and devotion, full of comfort and tranquility.

Carlos Amorales
Palazzo delle Esposizioni
October 9, 2010- February 27 2011
http://english.palazzoesposizioni.it/Mediacenter/FE/CategoriaMedia.aspx?idc=401&explicit=SI

by Kirila Cvetkovska


Carlos Amorales renders a mixture of abstract forms and nature, through the exhibiting space at Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome). He offers a fairytale-like ambient, exposing five installations in a black and white contrast which transmit his own stances and visions. The works are placed over three rooms in a continuous sequence, encompassing a lucid narrative. Their fusion brings in the exhibition title- Remix, as a mark of the diverse vibrations of the actual show.
Working in a wide range of media: from video animation to drawing and performance art, Carlos Amorales (born in 1970, in Mexico) extends his art beyond reality. He creates a synthesis between the “ideas” and the “cravings”, implementing freedom of movement and interpretation. The artist presents his concerns with horror and resistance, while the viewers are free to interpret the art works in their own way. Thus, by using a hybridisation process in his art, Amorales conveys imaginative splendor and motivation. His first works of art included performances of masked wrestlers, which reflected the artist’s yearning for competition in the modern world. Nowadays, Amorales searches for a symbolic significance and quality through the features of the hybridisation process. He juxtaposes various natural and abstract forms, utilizing them as metaphors for the struggle between good and evil or the parallel amongst beauty and terror.
As the viewers enter the exhibiting space, they encounter the seven hundred and fifty-one segments of Drifting Star (2010) which hang down from the ceiling. They seem as broken (black) glass pieces revealing pure abstraction, but also a dose of vitality and rapture. One can even walk within the installation, directly experiencing the artist’s intention for presenting a dream-like surrounding, full of obstacles and chances. Amorales places this installation at the center of the room, where the walls appear as its backdrop. They are covered with pencil drawing Throwing the Studio out of the Window (2010) which comprises of circular black lines and reflects the artist’s aggressive inner state. Hence, these two works have contrasted concerns- the fantasy world which flickers the viewer’s imagination and the intensity of the author’s persona, all wrapped in Amorales’ unique visual language.
The three smaller rooms on the right that assemble the show are filled with diverse installations. The walls of each room are covered with the work Black Cloud (2007) which consists of huge number of black butterflies, simply attached to the walls and the ceiling. The vast amount of replicated butterflies reveals an opaque, threatening crowd, yet transcendent and evocative to an everlasting fate. In fact, this art work is a symbol of collective power and its effects, generated by the firmness of the group, where the limitations of beauty and terror are distorted. Additionally, in the first two rooms, the walls are also covered with Why Fear the Future? (2006), integrating black figures of birds flying in different directions. By imposing the question “Why fear the future?”, a particular confrontation with the uncertainty of time is suggested, reflected through the multiplied images of the birds. This repetition of line and form reflects stability and an ultimate surmount of the actual fear. Moreover, the rooms include a series of pencil drawings on their walls, still indicating the significance of the artist’s bouncing inner state.
Beside the work Black Cloud, the third room also hosts Liquid Archive (2009) which includes postcards with different images, presented as gifts to the viewers. This is the final point of the exhibition, in which the spectators sum up their impressions and get a small reward for their attention.
By using allegorical depictions, Carlos Amorales creates a coherent illustration of various subject matters: from freedom of movement to potential and collective strength. He conveys a dream-like atmosphere, still concerned with issues of the everyday world such as the overcoming of a certain fear. Amorales combines diverse installations in order to produce a whole with harmonious story, accompanied by his attitudes and ideas. However, he allows the viewers to dig deeper in his works and try to achieve a unique notion and interpretation.

Antonio Rovaldy and Bettina Buck
Monitor Gallery
opened December 4, 2010
http://www.monitoronline.org/home.html

by Kirila Cvetkovska


A double solo show at Monitor Gallery, Rome, presents the unique artistic nature of two contemporary artists: Antonio Rovaldi and Bettina Buck. The shows occupy the two separate rooms and deliberate the idea of the limits within an exhibiting space and the memories enclosed in this particular aperture. By incorporating the matter of time in their art works, both of the artists present physical and psychological distances between locations, people and encounters. They also display the affiliation of these segments and reflect their own reminiscence.
Antonio Rovaldi (born in 1975, in Parma) is an artist interested in the perception of space and the relations between the different media of his art works (photography, video, sculptures and drawings). He explores the time intervals and the boundaries of a particular surrounding, engaging in themes such as landscape and its concord. On the other hand, Bettina Buck (born in 1974, in Cologne) investigates the issue of uncertainty and the restrictions of form, questioning the concept of perception. She uses materials such as found posters, carpets or aged foam, re-interpreting sculptural techniques and asking for the viewers’ commitment and interpretation.
The room with Antonio Rovaldi’s works of art transmits his nostalgia and sensitivity, stirred by the Swiss poet Robert Walser, whose body was discovered in a snow- covered field in 1956. Thus, Rovaldi presents his dedicated photographs and sculptures, filled with sublimity and compassion. In A Roma domani nevica, the artist brings out Walser’s life path, depicting images of his face and the site of his death. He exposes the physical and emotional barriers between the two, entailing the “ruins” of time and everyone’s ultimate point- death. Furthermore, Rovaldi examines the dimensions of space, presenting L’alleanza perpetua which consists of two gold enameled canes, placed on the ground. They occupy certain part of the floor and generate a fixed capacity, with a clear starting and ending point. Rovaldi also shows the interrelation between the setting, the distance and forms, reflected through the image of a landscape. For instance, in the series of photographs Herr Erwin Brugger (17 Ottobre 2010), the artist presents a forest, where he met Erwin Brugger, the person who found Walser’s body. The photographs convey the “flash” of an encounter, yet implying a memory of a loving individual- the poet. They reveal sensibility and affection, illustrated through the woods and their allegorical significance.
Moreover, the room with Bettina Buck’s works presents the author’s latest art creation under the name Platzhalter. It includes small circular sculptures made of self- expanding foam and placed at each corner of the room. This work focuses on the idea of space and its limitations, pointed out by the sculptures. In addition, the material used (foam) is not fully controllable and this indicates a certain motion and shift over time. The issue of change is imposed, disclosing dose of intimacy and conviction. With regard to the neutrality of the surrounding, Buck also conveys the traits of simplicity and allows the viewers to move randomly, stimulating their imagination.
Antonio Rovaldi and Bettina Buck render their personal memories through the rooms of Monitor Gallery, exploring the obstructions of time and space. They also inflict the idea of travel, delineating personal experiences and events. Both of the authors reveal the interdependence between the particular “setting” and the “people”, suggesting possible encounters. They encourage the viewers to attain a unique interpretation, interfered with their own lust and retention.

Takashi Murakami

Gagosian Gallery

13 November 2010 - 15 Jannuary 2011

www.gagosian.com

by Sara Pelliccia

Until January the 15th,two gigantic acrylic paintings Dragon in Clouds-Red Mutation and Dragon in Clouds-Indigo Blue by Takashi Murakami- each comprising nine panels and measuring eighteen meters long- will be occupying the entire exhibition space of the Gagosian Gallery in Rome. A mixture of Japanese mythology joined with references to popular Japanese video games characterizes these works, in which overloaded ink rips verge on abstraction, giving life to a fantastic world populated by two gorgeous dragons. Actually, the exhibition is an investigation into the metaphoric meaning of this creature which, on the one hand, according to Western iconography, is seen as a terrible monster, on the other hand, is considered as a symbol of good fortune and optimism by the Buddhists.

The show is, indeed, grounded on the theme of ambiguity, strengthened also by the contrast between the redness of one painting and the blueness of the other. Immediately entering into the room, the viewer is confused about the content and the sense of what he/she is looking at. Is this a jungle populated by strange animals without a body or is this the representation of a nightmare? I would say: both, and just in this dichotomy of the image, it is contained the magic and the fascination of Murakami’s art. In Dragon in Clouds-Red Mutation, the volumetric outlines of the swirls and the vast claws sprawl across the panel, while the chiaroscuro effects of the dragon’s body gives to the work a sense of depth. The image of the red dragon referring to the eponymous novel by Tomas Harris, suggests an idea of bloody death and massacre, as it is typical of the horror movies. In contrast, in Dragon in Clouds-Indigo Blue, the frenetic swirls surrounding the dragon’s pupils and its flared nostrils combined with serpentine whiskers make this panel a funny reproduction of the Japanese video game, “Blue Dragon.”In addition, the blueness of the painting suggests as sense of peacefulness and religious silence contrasting with the sense of violence emerging in the red panel.

In their “superflat” style, which employs classical Japanese painting techniques to depict a super-charged mix of Pop, manga e otaku, these monochromatic panels seem to evoke something “transcendental” with a particular reference to the religious theories of Shinto. The idea of the presence of “the divine” in nature is exemplified in Murakami’s painting through the representation of a dynamic dragon, whose long mustache and energized claws express the turbulence of the natural phenomena. Nevertheless, although the two dragons produce a disquieting effect on the viewer because of the contrast of colors and the forcefulness of the drawing, nevertheless, they become emblems of the intrinsic link between art and psyche. The dragon is, indeed, a monster, but also a divine creature, just as art is a combination of a “monstrous” genius and supernatural inspiration. The two paintings are, therefore, the representation of the creative process of the artist’s mind who, through fantasy and intuition, elaborates his own dreams and nightmares to create his dragon, art.

And What Comes Back

Mitzi Pederson

Unosunove Gallery

November 24, 2010 - January 22, 2011

www.unosunove.com

By Monet McCord

Located on a small road and being the only building with glass doors allowing the viewer to see inside, Galleria 1/9 UnoSuNove is the current home of the exhibition, And What Comes Back; this is actually the gallery’s first solo exhibition in Italy of American artist Mitzi Pederson.  Mitzi Pederson currently lives and works in Berlin.  She has been interested in allowing materials she uses to determine their own form and to share in the creation of the work.  She tries to create interplay with materials- they respond to her actions and she responds to their actions with intuition and minimized intention.  The new work in the show, And What Comes Back, consists of manipulated photographs, silk paper, and wood.

As the spectator stands outside of the door waiting for, Monica de Sario, the gallerist to buzz you into the gallery, the viewer can see what appear to be random pieces of wood on the floor.  Once you enter the gallery you see that they are indeed the art pieces of Mitzi Pederson.  The gallery consists of three different rooms in which the artist’s works are displayed.   None of the works in the gallery are titles nor have a description of what they are.  The materials of the works in the first room are manipulated photographs, silk paper and wood, the second room only of manipulated photographs and wood, and the third room solely manipulated photographs and silk paper.  Not only are the amounts of materials in a work decreasing but also so is the number of works in each room.   It is as if Mitzi Pederson was hinting at the possibility of the effects of the materials that she used in her exhibit; they all could potentially begin to deteriorate.  For example, the strips of wood, a material that can be quite sensitive and reactive to its surroundings, at least atmospherically decrease in the works as you move through the gallery. 

Once in the second room, the large work in the corner presents itself as thin floating strips of wood intersecting one another but once the viewer is close enough they can see the very thin thread that is holding them in place.  This positioning of wood is somewhat interesting because one would not think that thin thread can hold wood in the air, but the manipulation of the size and thickness of the wood allows for this to be possible.  Mitzi Pederson is reducing her control over the precision of placement and providing room for change, to see how the piece may or may not develop on its own over time.

The third and last room in the gallery is the office space of the gallery, with a desk, computer, and other works by other artists, which takes your attention away from the final pieces in Mitzi Pederson’s exhibition.  The last works presented in this room are photographs that have been changed in someway by the artist.  She either peels off layers of the film, add glue and glitter to them, or cut them in a very odd and peculiar fashion.  The photos are then placed on silk paper and hung on the wall.  These photographs are in color and no specific image can be seen in the photos, but as informed by the gallerist, the photos are taken by the artist and are of her previous works.   Mitzi Pederson is again interacting with the materials but also allowing them to respond back to her.  I am sure that no one particular art piece is more important than the next, but the organization of this gallery lends the idea that the more important works are in the first two rooms, where the focus of the gallery is Mitzi Pederson and not other artist.  This exhibition is the first that I have been to that is really abstract and absent of any type of form and structure.  Most contemporary that I have seen, I can identify the object that is being presented, but here there is not an everyday object that can be identified.  It is the materials that can be identified in this exhibition.  Contemporary art is about questioning the traditional and creating new forms and ways to express the ideas of the artist while allowing the spectator to participate in the art; Mitzi Pederson makes this possible with her current exhibition And What Comes Back.

And What Comes Back

Mitzi Pederson

Unosunove Gallery

November 24, 2010 - January 22, 2011

www.unosunove.com

by Clara Giannini

Mitzi Pederson is an American artist born in 1976 in Stuart, Florida. Now she lives and works in Berlin. She exhibits in may spaces in the USA and in Europe, and her current show in Unosunove Gallery in Rome is her first solo show in Italy.

And What Comes Back is an exhibition that perfectly encloses the artist’s style. As can be seen from it, Pederson is interested in showing the changes that the materials she uses undergo during time. She allows them to take their own form and contribute to the making of the work of art. Her peculiarity is the interaction with the materials: Pederson creates a sort of dialogue to which both parts answer respecting the other and complementing each other. This is a process that needs permission, cooperation and renunciation: the material allows the artist to act, and this leads to a collaboration between the sides and also to an acceptance of not perverting the nature of the elements she is using. Working in this way, she underlines her intention to reduce control on the precision of the placement, and to leave space to the changes that modify the work. Pederson destroys the schemes in which materials have been enclosed, and leaves them free to change and to express their being alive.

For the exhibition in Unosunove Gallery, the artist concentrated her attention on photos. They are pictures of some of her uncompleted creations, manipulated and combined with other materials such as silk, wood and paper. The subject represented is no more recognizable, and the surface of the photos is modified taking advantage of their consistence and of their interaction with external elements. Charcoal, graphite and sand render the surfaces more vital and vibrant, and attract the visitor’s attention.

The two-dimensional state is outstripped thanks to the presence of external materials such as pieces of wood or squares of silk. The photos are reduced in fragments and pasted on a flexible surface leaving them free to assume other shapes, or they are combined together with wood, thread or yarn showing how all these elements can create an entirely new reality.

In the two-room gallery, works that do not include photos are exhibited, too. In order to create them, Pederson used only wood, thread and yarn of different dimensions and shapes. Together, these materials form works of art that embody the artist’s intention. In fact, they are subjected to the action of the surrounding environment, and they assume other conformations different than the original ones, above all wood.

Some of Pederson’s works are mounted in corners of the room. This disposition is really interesting because it seems that these works are part of the surrounding space, but, at the same time, they create space by their own. Several plans and depths state the concreteness of the works and seem to speak out loud their existence and authenticity. In this way, they adhere to the artist’s idea that these objects are alive and part of our reality.

Pederson’s minimalism fills the space of Unosunove Gallery, and the question that arouses has a direct link with her philosophy. In fact, this minimalism can be a direct consequence of her desire to show the essence of the materials to the world, her relation with them and also their ductility. All this is absorbed and, in a certain sense, assimilated by the materials, which, in this way, can demonstrate and confirm their vitality.

In And What Comes Back, materials and works of art coexist and live together with the spaces of the exhibition; here, Pederson plays with forms, tension and movements of the elements creating a game of perception that transmits the dynamism of the objects. Thus, it is not by chance that the artist’s works in this show are all untitled. Pederson does not give to the visitors any hint to interpret what they see, but she offers them the possibility to follow their perceptions and lets them free to choose their own interpretation. As she believes in the freedom of the materials, here she seems to believe in the spectators’ freedom in analyzing and judging her works.