TRACCE / TRACES
Every morning in the sky along the coast between Ladispoli and Anzio
August 16–25, 2020
Ciao,
I’m writing you this letter to announce my next exhibition, produced with the aim of getting out of my conventional spaces. TRACCE / TRACES by Lawrence Weiner will take place in the sky on a series of aerial banners along the coast from Ladispoli to Anzio.
The exhibition, devised by Luca Lo Pinto, links back to the book of the same title produced for Galleria Sperone in 1970, edited by Germano Celant who focused on the translation. The project envisioned by Weiner shortly after Celant’s death is also a tribute to the late Italian curator.
Exactly fifty years after the release of the publication, the artist has selected ten of the fifty works included in the book. They all consist of a single word, corresponding to the past participle of a verb that suggests an action that could have happened in the past, or could be expected for the future. The verbs, isolated and removed from any syntactic context, lend themselves to open interpretation.
From August 16 to 25, along the coastline most popular with Romans, the exhibition will present a different work each day. Though in the past there have been individual works with airplanes or their condensation trails (particularly those of Marinus Boezem, Maurizio Nannucci and Bruce Nauman), TRACCE / TRACES is the first solo show by an artist ever presented in the sky.
The project stems from the desire to explore the boundaries and potentialities of the exhibition as a medium—a core aspect of my program—in a moment when it seems even more urgent to think about the ability of a museum to open itself to public space, contributing to its reformulation. The exhibition will allow thousands of people to take part in a unique and totally ephemeral collective experience, offering each viewer the possibility—unexpected, for most—of coming into contact with works of art outside the context in which they are usually displayed and observed.
Lawrence Weiner (1942) is one of the leading figures of the contemporary art avant-garde, as well as one of the foremost conceptual artists who has contributed to redefine the paradigms of the work of art, its production and distribution. For Weiner, art can exist as a mere declaration of intent as well as in its concrete realization.
In 1968 he stated:
1. THE ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT THE WORK
2. THE WORK MAY BE FABRICATED
3. THE WORK NEED NOT BE BUILT
EACH BEING EQUAL AND CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT OF THE ARTIST
THE DECISION AS TO CONDITION RESTS WITH THE RECEIVER UPON THE OCCASION OF RECEIVERSHIP
As a result, his sculptures manifest themselves in the widest variety of forms. The medium of his works are listed as LANGUAGE + THE MATERIAL REFERRED TO. Lawrence Weiner’s works can be seen on the walls of leading international museums, on the façades of buildings, on street pavements and in other public spaces around the world, as well as in countless books, posters, records and other types of media.
The Extra section of my website, dedicated to extending the experience of my program, will show you a special selection of Weiner’s works and research.
An artist’s book will be produced for the occasion, thus completing an ideal circuit.
I hope to see you this summer.
Museum for Preventive Imagination
P.S. Thanks to Galerie Hubert Winter for the collaboration.
P.P.S In the city, my first exhibition Museum for Preventive Imagination — EDITORIAL is on view until September 27, 2020. In the meantime I’m happy to respond to any requests for information. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my press office.
