[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Dilpreet Bhullar (STIR) critiques “Escala humana” [Human Scale]—on view till April 23, 2023, at Galleria Continua in Havana. Bhullar says, “The exhibition highlights the politics of materiality by means of the works of Italian multimedia artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Cuban sculptor Yoan Capote.” Additionally see our earlier publish Escala humana. Listed below are excerpts from STIR.
To seek out resonance of the Arte Povera phenomenon within the present discipline of arts shouldn’t be a daily prevalence. The time period coined by the Italian artwork historian Germano Celant within the late Sixties debunked the classical logic of the artwork market and framework of magnificence, in an effort to provoke democratic circulation of visible adherence and economic system. The commotion it stirred within the face of the capitalist discipline of arts unravelled a lesser-spoken-about aspect of the world, erected on the foundations of aesthetic sensibilities. The exhibition Human Scale at Galleria Continua, Havana with Italian multimedia artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Cuban sculptor Yoan Capote spearheads a dialog between the artists, who’re separated by distance—measured by geography and age—but discover a voice of commonality to hint the legacy of Arte Povera and the politics of materiality in modern instances.
Human Scale brings collectively these two artists, whose respective observe, includes artwork, actuality and the person, in an especially individualistic form and type. The items within the exhibition present a transparent curiosity in redefining the viewers’ aesthetic expertise by means of a specific expressive energy of featured supplies and objects. In an interview with STIR, Niurma Pérez, gallery director of Galleria Continua, Havana, talks concerning the employed curatorial practices to let the works communicate to one another throughout the framework of Arte Povera. “As a place to begin, some paradigmatic works by the Italian grasp, Pistoletto, have been chosen, amongst them: Venus of the Rags, Caribbean Sea, Love Distinction, and a sequence of works made with mirrors, a few of which date again to 1976, which then entered into dialogue with already identified works and others made particularly for the exhibition, by Capote. A lot of the Cuban artist’s work reveals a Neo Povera sensibility, conditioned at first of his profession by the context and its difficulties relating to entry to state-of-the-art technical options, however on the identical time by his curiosity in all the time discovering probably the most expressive facet of supplies, whether or not humble or industrial,” shares Pérez.
By way of the show, when the heap of rags are juxtaposed with the statue of Venus it results in a dialogue, which could possibly be seen as equal to the work mirror work. The perfection of the black statue acts as a foil to the myriad of waste, standing because the epitome of consumerism and the need to recycle. Right here, materiality serves each as a ‘symbolic and emotional set off.’ The visceral and tactile high quality of notably Capote’s works could possibly be gauged by means of the lens of weight, corrosion, fragility, and steadiness, which opens a chance for the viewers to work together with the area in a novel method.
The ocean is a recurring leitmotif within the artwork exhibition; within the central area of the gallery, the ocean connects the dialogue between the 2 artists. Capote’s work displays on emigration and expands upon sturdy meanings with social and political connotations, whereas Pistoletto’s Caribbean Sea turns into the conciliatory state of affairs. The play on the texts of ‘Arrival’ and ‘Departure’ presents Pistoletto’s concept of Across the World, Caribbean Sea. It creates a dialogue between an eclectic mixture of cultures, languages, and political and non secular visions, surrounded by the seas of Capote’s Islands sequence, and his sculptures Self-Portrait and On our Shoulders. These works reimagine the notion of emotional weight and the non secular burden of our physique to speak about private experiences with collective empathy and social allusion. [. . .]
Capote, for his half, makes use of previous homes and mirrors because the reference. Moreover, archival household pictures are additionally displayed in our intimate areas. With archaeological delicacy, he provides the quicksilver on the again, scraping and stripping it to disclose the transparency of the glass whereas engraving the picture of the ocean,” informs Pérez. [. . .]
For full evaluation, see https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-galleria-continuas-exhibition-human-scale-traces-the-legacy-of-arte-povera