Roberto Cuoghi.
Suillakku
Curated by Marcella Beccaria
May 6 – July 27, 2008
With its “New generations” series the Museum showcases the work of young artists who are emerging on the international stage. Curated by Marcella Beccaria, the series began in 2000 presenting solo exhibitions of Franz Ackermann, Teresita Fernández, Anna Gaskell, Francesco Vezzoli, Thomas Demand, Candice Breitz and Yang Fudong.
With this new solo exhibition the Museum is presenting the work of Roberto Cuoghi (Modena, 1973), one of the most interesting Italian artists working today. Experimenting to the point of obsession, Cuoghi continuously reinvents himself and his method, working with a wide range of techniques, including photography, video, animations, painting, drawing and sound. In particular, Cuoghi has developed a personal investigation of the principle of metamorphosis. At the age of twenty-five he embarked on a path of physical transformation that lasted seven years and led him to age his appearance so he would resemble his father. Refusing to call this process a performance and to execute related works, the artist instead transferred his interest in the idea of metamorphosis into new works.
For Cuoghi, the invitation to develop a solo exhibition at Castello di Rivoli is an opportunity to make a vertiginous leap backward. Landing in Mesopotamia, at the time of the ancient Assyrians, the artist focuses on the most dramatic moment, when the empire fell into ruin and Ninevah is about to fall victim to attacks by the enemies. Made up of an imposing sound work and a monumental statue of the demon Pazuzu, the exhibition Suillakku, is the result of this latest metamorphosis on the part of the artist. A voyage in an apparently remote world, the project gives back the uncomfortable sensation of an irrational world, within which the past no longer seems remote and instead becomes a disquieting interpretation of a present that is all too near.
In conjunction with the exhibition Suillakku, Skira, Milan is publishing an in-depth catalogue on the work of Roberto Cuoghi. The book includes an essay by the curator, complete biographical and bibliographical appendices and images of most of the works the artist has created.
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