Jorge Macchi: Der Zauberberg

“Es decir, el propósito de abolir el pasado ya ocurrió en el pasado y—paradójicamente—es una de las pruebas de que el pasado no se puede abolir. (That is, the purpose of abolishing the past has already occurred in the past and, paradoxically, it is one of the proofs that the past can not be abolished.)”
–Jorge Luis Borges, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Nuevas inquisiciones, 1952

Saturday, November 3, 2018, at 7pm, Quartz Studio is pleased to present Der Zauberberg, the first solo show in Turin of the South American artist Jorge Macchi (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1963). The title comes from Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain, which left a deep impression on Macchi when he read it years ago. The artist says that, after reading it, he learned that the magic mountain is a traditional image in German literature, a place where people disappear, somewhere you don’t come back from. Castorp, the novel’s protagonist, goes to visit a relative in a sanatorium in the mountains for three weeks, but he ends up staying there for seven years. Der Zauberberg is a site-specific installation that Jorge Macchi conceived specifically for Quartz Studio. Macchi explains, “Based on the pattern of the floor, I selected 14 zones that have exactly the same distribution of black, red and yellow tiles. In eight of these zones, and on the same spot in each one of them, I built identical structures made with objects and rubbish apparently gathered by chance (cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, glass bottles, broken glass panes, MDF boards, newspapers, matches, papers, pieces of clothing, etc). The objects are the same in the eight groups, and they also are installed in the same way, repeating the random distribution. The floor of the room with its hexagonal pattern becomes part of the repetition: the relation between the objects and the pattern is always the same in the eight zones although there are no precise boundaries on the floor. It’s the presence of the identical groups of objects that transforms the continuity of the floor into a series of reflected units. The white walls and the black border on the floor set a boundary for a section of an infinite repetition. Two identical newspaper pages hang from the wall very close to the entrance door. All the texts and photographs are cut out except the word ‘GESCHICHTE’ (‘history’ in German).” Macchi continues, “There are two previous works linked to this project: Parallel Lives (two versions), 1998. In one version, two sheets of glass broken in the same way lay next to each other on the floor. The second version is a matchbox with a division down the middle. The distribution of matches is exactly the same on each side. In both versions of Parallel Lives, a highly improbable situation is shown to the viewer: the repetition of chance.”

Jorge Macchi (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1963) lives and works in Buenos Aires. Considered one of the leading conceptual artists of his generation in South American art, Macchi has strong ties to the European visual culture (Surrealism and Arte Povera). He works with diverse media, including sculpture, painting, and video, often combined in site-specific installations. Macchi is drawn to chance and fortuitous events, and his work often makes use of newspaper clippings, city maps, and musical scores. His influences include John Cage and Jorge Luis Borges. His recent solo shows include CA2M Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo, Madrid, Spain (2017), MALBA Museo de Arte Latino-Americana de Buenos Aires, Argentina (2016); Centre Régional d´Art Contemporain de Montbéliard, Montbéliard, France (2015); MUAC Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico (2014); MAMBA Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland (2013); S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium (2011); Pinacoteca del estado de San Pablo (2009), Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanéo, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2008). Jorge Macchi participated to the Biennials of Liverpool (2012), Lyon (2011), Porto Alegre (2007), Sao Paulo (2006 and 2004), Venice (2005), and Istanbul (2003).  He represented Argentina into the Venice Biennale (2005). His work is part of the collections Fundación Arco, Madrid, Spain, Musee de’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, Nice, France; Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY and the Tate, London, UK. Jorge Macchi is represented by Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Habana), Italy, Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich, Switzerland, Ruth Benzacar Galería de Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina,  Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, Brazil, Alexander and Bonin, New York, USA.

The project was made possible by the support of Fondazione Sardi per l’Arte. Quartz Studio and Fondazione Sardi per l’Arte would like to thank the artist and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, and Les Moulins, Habana. The exhibition will be open from November 3 to January 12, 2019, by appointment.