Photo credit: Gabriele Mauro, Untitled, 2017
The Stray Statue Paradox // Il paradosso della statua randagia
Curated by Gabriele Tosi
Opening October 19th at 5pm
Silvia Cogotzi, Matteo Coluccia, Silvia Coppola, Davide D’Amelio, Stefano Giuri, Sam Kamal Beik, Jovana Krstic, Lori Lako, Gabriele Mauro, Erika Pellicci
(Italiano ↓)
The Stray Statue Paradox features a selection of works by ten artists from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence which spans a diverse range of media, exploring the different aspects and possibilities opened up by a peripheral observation of the concept of posture and pose.
Though posture and pose are among the principal themes across nearly all classical artistic disciplines, it should be noted how these notions survive today not as formal objectives or outcomes, but rather as part of the the contemporary process of meaning-making.
Through a de-centralized use of these canonical elements, the exhibited artworks lead the viewer into various fields of interest. Instead of constructing forms, the artists investigate how we perceive form, and what a certain form can truly reveal. A particular position of a body in space, for example, can bring with it political and social reflections or reactions; while a familiar silhouette can serve as the location for society’s expression of its fears, tensions, interests, contradictions, and also for new forms of prejudice and classism.
Furthermore, the exhibition looks to analyse posture and pose even when a proper body is not perceived, presented, or represented. In this way, minute tensions and perpetual adjustments become a gauge to measure human adaptability in a specific environment. The role of memory and the possibility of shaping the future are brought to the fore, suggesting that sometimes contours and outlines are the most malleable substance of convention, structure and contemporary dogma.
This exhibition marks the beginning of a new relationship between SACI and the Accademia di Belle Arti, laying the groundwork for future dialogue between the students of these two institutions. Following SACI’s invitation to propose a show for the Maidoff Gallery, Robert Pettena (artist and professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence) invited the curator Gabriele Tosi to review the practices of a group of his former and current students and to work with them to produce The Stray Statue Paradox.
The exhibition will be on view until November 12, 2017. With the support of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze.
Jules Maidoff Gallery
Via Sant’Egidio 14
50122 Florence
Mon-Fri: 9 am – 7pm / Sat-Sun: 1-7pm
gallery@saci-florence.edu / http://www.saci-florence.edu
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