Gino de Dominicis

MAXXI, Roma

30 May - 7 November 2010
www.fondazionemaxxi.it

Andrew Nelson

Gino do Dominicis’ exhibition entitled “l’Immortale” at MAXXI focused on the themes of death, eternity, and transcendence through mythology. The exhibition used Rome’s newest museum dedicated to 21st century art in a revolutionary way. Every part of the museum was used to exhibit de Dominicis’ art, from the plaza outside the entrance, to the hallways, to the traditional exhibition rooms.

The exhibition takes place in five different parts of the museum representing five different levels of immortality. The five stages are, outside the entrance, the entrance, the lower gallery called Galleria 1, the hallways, and the upper gallery called Galleria 5. With the art exhibited throughout the museum, from top to bottom, inside and out, the viewer’s idea of the exhibition is enlarged from artwork only inside a room, to artwork which belongs in the world. Furthermore the museumgoer feels a natural desire to ascend the museum and see the completion of the show because there are hints of art in the hallways.

The first artwork of the exhibition is located outside of the entrance to the museum. A giant human skeleton entitled Calamita Cosmica (1988) that is characterized by having a long nose is the first level of the exhibition. Before the museumgoer even goes into the museum, they encounter the first theme of the show: Death. Calamita Cosmica acts as a momento mori, reminding the viewer that they are mortal.

The second level of the exhibition is on display in the entrance to the museum. De Dominicis artwork entitled Mozzarella in Carrozza (1969/70) that takes the appearance of a black carriage with a ball of white mozzarella inside. Perhaps the Carrozza represents a spirit guide, which is about to accompany the museumgoer through the exhibition.

Galleria 1, the lower gallery is filled with artwork that is preoccupied the lower form of immortality through the search for immortality, death, and physical remains. One of the first artworks in the lower gallery is Tentativo de Volo (1969). It is a film that shows the artist trying to fly by flapping his arms in the air. Of course the weight of the world holds him down, as the search for immorality prevents transcendence.

One of the focal works in the lower gallery is Senze Titolo (1969) made of stone attached to a brass rod. It shows a bolder holding down a brass rod, suggesting that the worlds itself prevents humans from reaching immortality. The emphasis on earthly material, the physical world, makes this work belong in the lower gallery.

The same brass rod shows up again in Il tempo, lo sbaglio, lo spazio (1969) which depicts a life sized human skeleton, and a dog’s skeleton on a leash, with the brass rod on the tip of the humans middle finger, suggesting that immortality is only possible after death.

The hallways of MAXXI are also used as exhibition space. Along the halls between the ground floor and the first floor there are large paintings, characterized by faces with elongated noses made of pilaster, like the skeleton outside. One painting in particular is called Senza Titolo (Lady Diana) (1985). Lady Diana represents an interesting place in this exhibition because its subject presents one possible route to immortality, through a tragic death – the kind of stories that myths are born from.

Continuing in the halls on the third floor, the viewer finds de Dominicis’ iconic work D’io (1971). This work announces a new theme in de Dominicis oeuvre. He has found transcendence; he has found god through himself, and his art.

On the top floor of the museum, in the Gallaria 5 there is a profound change in de Dominicis artwork.  No longer does the search for immortality, the skeleton or earthly material define de Dominicis art, but rather mythological themes.

For example, Urvasi e Gilgamesh (1987) embodies the new mythological themes in de Dominicis art. A lot has been made of Leonardo da Vinci’s influence on de Dominicis art. Urvasi e Gilgamesh is a clear reference to one of Leonardo’s drawings called Heads of Old Man and a Youth. In Galleria 5 there are artworks on many mythological themes including, Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Egyptian through an interesting drawing of a Sphinx, Greek through depictions of Cyclops, and Native American through the representations of the Totem. 

The exhibition of Gino de Dominicis at MAXXI is arranged in an ascendant way; the higher up the visitor goes in the museum, the higher state of transcendence they see in de Dominicis art. The highest room in the museum is transformed into a shrine to immortality and to the art of de Dominicis. The paintings in this room are gold, cosmic, heavenly, and in the center of the room the brass rod, which was weighed down by stone and death before in the lower gallery is liberated from all attachments. Its stands in the center of the room, called Equilibrio 1 (1967) and it acts as the focal point of the shine, which is framed by a wall of windows that makes the sky, the celestial embodiment of immortality, its background.