The bright verticality accompanies the upward push of the branches like tongues of fire and iron. The title clearly alludes to a condition of restlessness and distress, underlined by the twists and spasms of a material that has been made incandescent by effort and discord.
h 220x d 200 cm
Iron and cement 2017
The artist creates a circular enclosing shape for the first time. The history of art, over the centuries, has accustomed us to the recurring presence of the circle and the sphere, from the often-interpreted myth of Atlas to the Armillary spheres of the Renaissance to the contemporary works by Escher, Fontana and Pomodoro. In this case it is a lunge at nature that gives shape and substance to the earth, represented by an entanglement of branches similar to spirals arranged in volutes.
The development of concave and convex parts, purposely open and supported by a cement base, lets the surrounding portion of the world in and is an invitation to reflect on individual and collective responsibility towards the planet that hosts and feeds us.
The sphere, notoriously bound to the idea of perfection and completion, takes us back to a sense of invoked and rediscovered harmony, to a reconciliation of spirit and material.
h 280x300x140 cm
Iron and cement 2017
The sinewy roots protrude from the cement block and flow admirably into the stem which, in an “animal” gesture perforates the wall and emerges again with renewed strength from its shoots. There has been a transformation, as if the hard bald earth had held onto a spark of life that now emerges miraculously.
The roots perforate the parched and hard block of cement and in an extreme feat the plant seems to free itself from every impediment. The agile sinewy stem twists and bends and tries to find a dimension of life that is finally rewarding and lush.
h 230x190x110 cm
Iron and cement 2016
h 320x260x130 cm
Iron and cement 2017
Vibrant and elastic, the plant entitled “Rebirth” raises its “arms” to the sky in a gesture that reminds us of a dance in the harmony and delicacy of its “limbs” that meet and expand in unison. A note of elegance accompanies this slender tree that is strong and proud at the same time.
Like the water that gushes from a spring, this plant emerges from the ground with the same strength as a Carso river that appears and disappears. Attached to its support, it doesn’t hesitate to show a wayward and fanciful impetuosity that strays into many “aerial rivulets”.
h 410x110x110 cm
Iron and cement 2016
How can we not think about the many interpretations the history of art has given us about the famous “Resurrection” by Piero della Francesca? About the central figure of Christ that in the Renaissance masterpiece appeared hieratic and refulgent but is substituted here by an aniconic language that in the rough essentiality and humbleness of the material hints at the idea of a redemption, a victory, an ascension as a liberating gesture of ancient and even Tolstoyan memory.
h 280x300x220 cm
Iron and cement 2014
What can be said about the iron branches bent by the wind, similar to copper crowns flooded with light, authentic Medusa hair freed in the air? The evocative power of material is so strong
as to give origin to multiple intense layers of images and sense.
