curated by Arechi Invernizzi
exhibition views at Trullo Rubina, Ceglie Messapica
July 22nd – August 19th 2023
The Trullo, with its unique architectural shape and history, serves as the inspiring motif for the exhibition's theme, which explores the concept of lightness in its intimate and paradoxical relationship with its opposite, gravity, interpreted as the physicality and compactness of matter.
The simplicity of the construction method makes these dwellings "light" and somewhat provisional. The limestone slabs, stepped fitted, without mortar or cement, challenge the force of gravity in their tension towards the sky and can be easily dismantled, as used to occur during the Bourbon period, when Spanish collectors, sent by the Kingdom of Naples, would come to collect taxes on properties. At the same time, the heavy quadrangular base with thick walls assigns the Trullo a connotation not only of solidity and safety but also of resistance to the adversities of time and anchoring to the earth. Each one of the exhibited works reflects the suggestion of the oxymoron from which the exhibition takes its title and navigates in a territory that is both suspended and middle ground, hanging in the balance and yet drawing substance from that very territory as a counterweight, and where lightness can overturn into its opposite. The ephemeral world outlined by the shadows pinpointed by Maddalozzo, Pignatelli, and Uncini evokes a plastic composition, transforming a fragile and ambiguous element into something stable and visibly concrete. Similarly, the severe and rigorous forms of Gilioli's steel sculptures play with the multiple reflections of light, while in Catelani's paintings, the instability of color erases the distinction between matter and image. Tomašević's surreal collages and Pizzolante's digital prints open up an inexplicable and metaphysical universe where humans are infinitely small, and memory becomes tangible. Finally, Štětinová's reinterpretation of traditional Bohemian ex-voto shows discrepancy between the subject's lightness, fluidity, and fragility and the stiff material, linden wood, it's made of.
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Photos by Marino Colucci
Antonio Catelani
He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. The artist’s research spans from the sculptural investigation with evident references to architecture, challenging the normal distinctions between disciplines, to painting, mainly practiced since the 1990s, with a series of works that investigate and subvert the perception of pictorial space and the artist’s gesture. Catelani’s works have been exhibited in numerous Italian and international institutions, including: XLIII Biennale di Venezia, Venice (1988); PAC - Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan (1986, 1989, 1998); MUMOK, Wien (1991); Museo Pecci, Prato (1991, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2012); Berlinische Galerie/Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (1992); Künstlerhaus Villa Romana, Florence (1992); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome (1995, 2001, 2016); Quadriennale d’Arte di Roma, Rome (1996, 2008); Museo Marino Marini, Florence (2006); MoCA, Shanghai (2006); Polo Museale - Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence (2012); Museo del Novecento, Florence (2014, 2018).
Émile Gilioli
Émile Gilioli was a French sculptor. He initially pursued a career as a blacksmith during his youth spent in Italy and later enrolled at the École des Arts décoratifs in Nice and subsequently at the École des beaux-arts in Paris, where he primarily focused on sculpture. In uenced by Cubism and the work of Brancusi, the artist's work quickly turned towards abstraction. His pieces, crafted with precious and re ective materials, play with light and the construction of space through clean and precise volumes. In addition to numerous public commissions, the artist's work has been exhibited in various institutions and is part of important collection, including Tate Gallery, London; São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, São Paulo; MoMa, New York; Kunsthaus, Zurigo; Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (1949); São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo (1957); Documenta, Kassel (1959); Wold House Gallery, New York (1962, 1974); Guggenheim Museum, New York (1962); Contemporary Culture Centre, Tokyo (1976); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1979). Among the awards won by the artist are: Prix de la Tapisserie, São Paulo Biennial (1957); Carrara City Prize (1959); Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville de Paris (1974).
Federico Maddalozzo
The artist's research encompasses various elds, with a focus on color theory and the phenomenological relationship with objects, especially those that are defective or mass-produced. His poetics dedicates particular interest and attention to the ephemeral, the accidental, the everyday, and the transient. The artist's works have been exhibited in numerous institutions and international venues, including: Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice (2006); International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York (2010); Museo d'arte Contemporanea Villa Croce, Genoa (2010); Grimmuseum, Berlin (2012); Istituto Svizzero, Milan (2016); MAMbo, Bologna (2017); Galerie Thomas Fischer, Berlin (2022).
Jasmine Pignatelli
After her artistic studies and a degree in architecture, she focuses on sculptural production, especially on conceptual geometry and analytical and programmed art. The artist's research impinges on conveying essential forms in space, constructing a humanistic geometry capable of investigating existence.
In addition to numerous public commissions, the artist has exhibited her works on several occasions, including Pio Monte della Misericordia Museum, Naples (2017); Viterbo Biennale, 5th edition, Palazzo dei Papi, Viterbo (2018); Vallicelliana Library, Rome (2018); Arcos Museum of Contemporary Art Sannio, Benevento (2019); XVII Architecture Biennale, Italian Pavilion, Venice (2021); Musma Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, Matera (2022). The artist has also won Memorie Prize from the Floridi Doria Pamphilj Trust (2016-2017).
Matteo Pizzolante
After graduating in Civil Engineering he shifts his studies towards sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Dresden. The artist's work lies at the intersection of various disciplines and utilizes different media. Often, Pizzolante starts with digital images and associated software, manipulating and integrating them into his exploration of space and time. The spatial investigation, everyday life, time, artistic mark and matter, dreams and images of the mind are recurring themes in his works. Pizzolante has exhibited on numerous occasions, including BienNolo, Milan (2019); BOCs Art, Cosenza (2019); GAM, Turin (2020); Vistamarestudio, Milan (2020); Jaguart Artissima, Milan (2020); Artissima, Turin (2020); FuturDome, Milan (2022); Fondazione Elpis, Milan (2023). Pizzolante is also the winner of the Vanni Autofocus10 International Prize and participates in the Q-Rated project, Sensible Research, promoted by La Quadriennale, Rome.
Tereza Stetinová
After obtaining a degree in photography from FAMU in Prague, the artist's research moved toward sculpture. Her investigation often relies on using organic materials to explore themes such as memories, cultural heritage, biographical elements, the sacred, and the profane, through the construction of installations confronting the surrounding space. Among the artist's recent exhibitions are: Signi cant Other, Wien (2018); Jelení Gallery, Prague (2022); Centre Tchéque, Paris (2022); Polansky Gallery, Prague (2022); Hunt Kastner, Prague (2023).
Jelena Tomasevic
The artist graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cetijie. Author of a complex work with various stylistic, formal and content levels, Tomašević masters different languages with rare simplicity and formal expertise. Human existence and the search for its hidden meanings, the dif culties and psychological problems associated with living conditions in Western societies, the overturning of places of affection in mental prisons, and horror vacui are recurring themes in Jelena Tomašević’s artistic research.
Her works have been exhibited on numerous occasions, including Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2005); Center for Contemporary Art, Podgorica (2010); National Museum of Montenegro, Cetinje (2019); Whitebox Art Center, New York (2015); 9th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2005). She also represented Montenegro/Serbia at the 51st Venice Biennale (2005) and at 59th Venice Biennal (2022). Among the artist’s awards are the Award for Best Young Artist of Montenegro, Center for Contemporary Art, Podgorica (2007) and the Onufri International Prize, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana (2017).
Giuseppe Uncini
Giuseppe Uncini was an Italian sculptor and painter. The artist was a pioneer in the use of materials that were not traditionally considered artistic but rather related to the construction eld, such as cement and iron rods, which became distinctive elements of his work. The sculptural material is used by the artist to pursue a geometric-spatial investigation through the construction and highlighting of sculptural volumes and the space with which the artworks interact.
Some of the solo exhibitions in which the artist participated include: Galleria L'Attico, Rome (1961); ZKM - Museum fur Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (2008); Galleria Nazionale, Rome (2019); Fondazione Marconi, Milan (2019); group exhibitions: Quadriennale Nazionale d'Arte, Rome (1955, 1965, 1973, 1986, 1992, 1999); Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (1961); 7th International Biennial of Tokyo, Tokyo (1963); International Art Biennale, Venice (1966, 1976, 1978, 1984, 1995).