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.