About Borromini, Rome
16/12/2003 - 01/02/2004
Grazia Toderi: Falconieri Crypt under the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
Giovanni Anselmo, Francesco Gennari, Marisa Merz: Falconieri Palace
Futuro Association
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curated by
Ludovico Pratesi and Costantino D’Orazio
Opening: Tuesday, December 16th, 7 pm
Four Italian artists belonging to different generations will work at two amazing sites designed in the XVII century by Francesco Borromini (1599-1649), genius of the Baroque architecture. The exhibition aims to connect and compare the complex Borromini’s design to the work of contemporary artists, trying to understand connections and differences between past and present.
Ludovico Pratesi and Costantino D’Orazio invited four artists with different education and experiences, who will present site-specific works. Under the vaulted ceilings of the squared rooms in Falconieri Palace Giovanni Anselmo, a member of the Arte Povera group in the Sixties, will work on the relationship between the architecture and the magnetism of the Earth; Marisa Merz will connect the marble, typical stone of Baroque architecture, with the natural movement of the sunlight coming through the windows of the palace; Francesco Gennari, a young artist based in Pesaro, will make an enigmatic selfportrait inspired by the misterious symbols designed by Borromini in the palace. Grazia Toderi, who will work in the oval crypt under the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, last site built by Borromini, will connect the image of a bright galaxy with the peculiar geometric shape of the crypt.
Pratesi and D’Orazio are already working on “About Michelangelo” (2004), “About Raffaello” (2005), “About Bernini” (2006) looking for uncommon and secret sites in Rome.
Participating artists:
Giovanni Anselmo
Born in Borgoranco di Ivrea (Turin) in 1934, Anselmo joined the group of artists named Arte Povera since early 1967. He is interested about the concept of energy, infinite and invisible, which he presents by generating a strong balance between different objects and materials. Among his most important exhibitions are: 1980, Musee de Grenoble; 1985, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; 1990, Venice Biennal (Golden Lion); 1993, Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneve.
Francesco Gennari
Born in Pesaro in 1973, Gennari works between Pesaro and Milan. He works on the spiritual idea in the procedures of visual perception by the creation of metaphysic objects and situation such as a tomb for a verm designed as a big cake. He showed his works at MART (Trento) and the CentroArtivisive Pescheria in Pesaro dedicated him a solo show.
Marisa Merz
Marisa Merz lives and works between Turin and Milan. Home and private space are some of the main subjects of her work, designed always with a very delicate touch. She has been one of the leading figures of Arte Povera group since late Sixties had solo shows at Centre Pompidou, Paris (1994), at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (1995) and Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna (1998).
Grazia Toderi
Toderi (Padova, 1963) uses the video to work on the pure energy of light. At the beginning her work focused on private quarters, lately she turned her attention to public spaces (stadiums, theatres etc.) observed in an intimate way. Her work always deals with architecture in which the projection takes place, and combines images and sound to create a rich and a mysterious atmosphere. She had solo shows at Miro’ Foundation in Barcelona (2002), at IIC in Los Angeles and at Castello di Rivoli (1998).
image above: Grazia Toderi: Centaurus, 2003, video, loop, dvd, Cripta Falconieri in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
