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.