Ion Grigorescu
Trauma of the Exposed Body
May 19–July 26, 2013
Opening: Saturday May 18, 7pm
Ex Chiesa San Matteo
Piazza San Matteo 3
55100 Lucca, Italy
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 3:30–7pm,
other days by appointment only
T/F 39 02 26 92 44 50
info [at] prometeogallery.com
Curated by Maria Rus Bojan
prometeogallery di Ida Pisani is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition Trauma of the Exposed Body, the first solo project of the acclaimed Romanian artist Ion Grigorescu, in the gallery’s premises in the Church San Matteo, Lucca.
Curated by Maria Rus Bojan, the exhibition revisits an important period from his creation, presenting works from the end of the 1970s, when the artist investigated body issues through self-performative practices and also newer works, in which the body plays a central role.
Within the recent history of Romanian art, Ion Grigorescu has been one of the first artists who examined the social and cultural significance of body art, providing a new conceptual framework for defining a particular neo-avant garde that underlines the dramatic shift in the conception of the artistic subject.
Embracing a rather particular mix of approaches and spiritual perspectives, Ion Grigorescu practices body art as a mode of transfiguring himself, and as a tool to interrogate the meaning of his own existence, and also of the human condition in general.
Trauma of the Exposed Body is an artistic approach that reiterates the idea that the essence of life is inscribed on our body. Referring to the biblical moment when Adam and Eve, having disobeyed God by tasting fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, lose their innocence and become suddenly aware of their nakedness, Grigorescu emphasizes his own trauma caused by revealing his nude body in front of divinity. A practicing Christian and an artist who earned his existence by painting orthodox churches, Grigorescu underlines that the biblical sense of nudity indicates man’s spiritual purity and therefore, it is not a sacrilege, nor an offense to present himself naked before God.
The exhibition describes the artist’s struggle to conciliate the fundamental contradiction between his desire of experiencing nakedness as an expression of primordial spiritual purity and the traumatic acknowledgement of the original sin. Considering that too many layers had covered the spiritual nakedness of this world, Ion Grigorescu has chosen the oldest church from Lucca, the tenth-century Romanic Basilica San Matteo, as a background for a spiritual unfolding of his ritual of harmonizing the body and mind. One can perceive this performative approach as a ritual of healing and of liberation from dogma and prejudice.
Conceived to work as a single installation, the display alternates projected images alluding to Christianity from his most famous 1970s series of photographic works, such as Ritual Bath and Washing with Light, with mundane elements such as White Wash, Braiding Hair, Athletics or Homage to Muybridge, and with a more recent video projection titled Start. The aim is to create the impression of a performative frieze that adds a different layer to the already sacred and charged space of the church.
prometeogallery di Ida Pisani proudly announces the participation of three artists represented by the gallery at the 55th Edition of the International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia:
Zbynek Baladran within the exhibition Still the Same Place, curated by Marek Pokorny, Czech and Slovak Pavilion
Rossella Biscotti within the exhibition Palazzo Enciclopedico, curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Arsenale
Stefanos Tsivopoulos within the exhibition History Zero, curated by Syrago Tsiara, Greek Pavilion