Exhibitions & Events:
NYC _ Ca D'Oro Art Gallery _ Exhibit from April 23 to May 24, 2015 The Project
The most exciting cities today are hopelessly vertical. Vertical emotions of daring shapes in concrete, glass and steel, where nature struggles to the surface, living creatures climbing great heights to survive… The "Vertical Reflection" project, artworks of steel, felt and wood, investigates vertical modernity meeting horizontal tradition, fast-paced fashion versus the paralysis of conventions, the boundary between private and public dimensions, trends and beliefs. “A Vertical Reflection of thoughts and hints that metaphorically mark the stages of man’s journey in search for the meaning of life. At first Colour – surface, questions. Then Shapes: research, commitment, choice. Then again Matter: answers, individual certainties”. This artistic creation is an encouragement to reach awareness and test our limits, which represent the evolutionary heritage of society as a whole, trace the boundaries of change and disclose the future of mankind, defining the meaning of life and our own existence.
Height: Vertical and horizontal dimensions
Heights arouse awe, an innate sense of devotion that comes from our childhood, when we looked up to our parents. It is the first and foremost tangible proof of power and submission, a natural pathway between Heaven and Earth, humanity and divinity. This collection focuses on the crossway between the natural and supernatural dimensions, leading us to the present, where a father crosses over to his child, recognizes him and the Child becomes a Man. Horizontal and vertical lines are basic references where the emotions we feel spring forth from.
1_CAOS: Colour, Identity
Colour covers all surfaces, it is a feeling, an impression. Hence the use of rich, pure colours and the obsessive repetition of a single volume - apparently working on modularity, crushing variety, through the human gesture of a brush stroke – expresses joy and emotion, to claim that individuals are only part of society through their own identities, which make each city multiethnic, cosmopolitan and unique. Personal identity embodies fondness and memories that are powerfully conveyed by the concept of Home through warm, emotionally-charged felt, a symbol of personal cohesion, sheltering everybody’s soul and love.
Wool felt
Biella wool felt introduces the inspiration of Italy, fashion and Made in Italy, as well as the concept of commodity as an occasion for communication among various populations all over the world via man’s basic needs. It is a natural antidote to loneliness in the urban setting, a metaphor of a love shelter where homesickness finds a place housing the fondest memories of our dear ones. Enriched by colour, warm, emotionally-charged felt conveys the individuality and variety that make up humanity, even in the most artificial and industrial settings.
2_ORDER: Shape, Choice
Shape moulds matter, organizes space, models boundaries. It is discussion, communication, clash, a choice between apparent opposites: man and nature, softness and hardness, interior and exterior, dark and light. It is research, pondering and commitment for each of us to find our own place in the world and express our identity. It embodies the taste of modern society, so the softness of hand-worked felt interacts with wood, nature and the environment, expressing the developing world and the ensuing development of men, partially conscious of their direction, yet determined to move forward.
Wood
It represents Nature as apparently opposed to man and human action, and the lessons yet to be learned. Experience makes it a friendly material you can rely on, an embodiment of memory and human history, a matter preserving traditional and cultural human values, wisdom and knowledge. It makes time meaningful in its slow yet relentless flow, and survives man to pass on our message beyond life.
3_ COMPLEXITY: Matter, Substance
Matter is substance, the essence and meanings arising from research, with unavoidably partial results, just like volumes jutting out of the mirrored surface, in an endless game of doubles between real and virtual, known and unknown… while still being solid, reliable and grounded. Matter represents self-awareness, being aware of our limits. Abilities, skills and knowledge are joined in a 3D experience, in a complex dimension where the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts, where we find our place in the bosom of society and establish relationships with other individuals who recognize and accept us. Matter is wisdom, a place we can call Home, life lived to the fullest.
Mirrored surfaces
Looking in the mirror is an age-old innate gesture that has accompanied human development, an intimate moment which conveys getting ready before making the scene in society, whatever our culture. It refers to our identity and conveys the importance of imagination in life and in making our own future as we wish it to be. We are all equal before a mirror, driven towards an eerie unsubstantial dimension suspended between dream and reality, seeking our new meaning of life.