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Eliseo Mattiacci Misurazione di corpi celesti e altre invenzioni 1968- 2004 6th March to 14th May 2004 (Measurement of celestial bodies and other creations)
The exhibition
La Galleria dell' Oca presents an exhibition of works by Eliseo Mattiacci, one of the foremost arrtists on the Italian scene since the mid sixties. Alongside new works created purposely for the exhibition - Misurazione di corpi celesti (Measurement of celestial bodies), Capta segnali (Signal receiver) and Scrutare il cosmo (Peering into the cosmos) - five of Mattiacci's seminal works will provide a sense of continuity whilst underlining the basic concepts of his art- making. These will be Centro vitale frontale (Vital frontal centre) 1968, Trucioli e calamita (metal shavings and magnet) 1969, Alfabeti primari (Primary alphabets) 1972, Giorno e notte (Day and night) 1975-1976 and Lente solare (Solar lens) 1987-1988. The works will be on display in both of L'Oca's venues : Via Margutta 54 and Via della Mercede 12a.
Alfabeti primari, originally presented at the 1972 Venice Biennale opens the exhibition in the first room at Via della Mercede . It consists of ten metallic sheets (an alloy of alluminium and antimony) on which Mattiacci has etched the alphabets of several ancient languages that art critic Emilio Villa researched purposely. It can be seen as a work of "art anthropology", in which the primary elements of a system of global hermeneutics are provided to the viewer, enabling a form of communication.
In the second room, Misurazione di corpi celesti recalls the shape of a pair of drawing compasses, its arched and prehensile arms facing the sky, in anticipation of a contact with bodies and elements from an otherwold of cosmic phenomena. The metallic compasses are anchored to the ground by a magnet which seems to pin them down whilst letting a raw energy run trough them. In a perennial state of suspension, the compasses are compelled to relentlessly keep a peering eye focused on the skies.
On the opposite wall Giorno e notte (1975- 76) consists of two elements: a glass panel bearing the world "DAY", a panel of burnished iron representing the night. Giorno e notte underlines the inherent continuity of time, the cycle of light and darkness that provides a framework within which our reality can exist.
The works in the third room can be compared in terms of tension, suspension, transference of energy. Centro vitale frontale, 1968, is composed of a diamond shaped cone made of stainless steel applyed to a wall, on which a glass panel is laid vertically. The "diamond" seems to be aimed at the viewer's forehead, as to highlight and threaten his or her most vital point .
Trucioli e calamita, 1968- 69, presents Mattiacci's first use of magnets in his work.The shavings, piled up in a corner of the room, rise towards a magnet placed above them to form a suspended continuum whose formal architecture is rendered by its very energy.
Lente solare, 1987- 88, is a large scale work first presented at the 1988 Venice Biennale. As if providing a solution to the mechanics of energy transmission, a concave disc (the solar lens) leans on a metal beam, over five metres long and bolted to the wall. At the centre of the disc is a magnet. The magnet transmits energy through a copper wire connected to a coil made of the same metal.
In the last rooms in Via della Mercede and in the Via Margutta space, Capta segnali and Scrutare il cosmo open and close in a perfect epitome the cosmic - astronomical set of instruments that constitute Mattiacci's exhibition. Steel astrolabes, resting on the floor, including iron discs disturbed by magnets, examine the sky, ready to intercept revelatory signs.
Info
Venues:
Via Margutta 54 00187 Rome, inner courtyard.
Via della Mercede 12 a 00187, main staircase third floor.
Visiting hours: Monday to Friday 10:00 - 13:00, 16:30 - 19:30. Saturdays by appointment.
Tel. 06 678 18 25, Cell. 348 731 80 86, E-mail info@galleriadelloca.it, www.galleriadelloca.it
Works on display
Via Margutta venue
1. Scrutare il cosmo, 2004, steel, iron and magnet, cm 152,5 x 165
1. Created for the exhibition.
Via della Mercede venue
First room
2. Alfabeti primari, 1972, alluminium and antimony alloy, 10 elements, cm 216 x 60
2. XXXVI Biennale d'Arte, (personal room), Venice 1972
Second room
3. Misurazione di corpi celesti, 2003- 2004, iron and magnet
3. Created for the exhibition
4. Giorno e notte, 1975- 1976, sandblasted glass and burnished iron, 2 elements, cm 80 x 80
4. Bernier Gallery, Athens, 1979, Fattoria di Celle, Pistoia, 2000.
Third room
5. Centro vitale frontale, 1968, stainless steel and glass, cm 210 x 100 x 25.
5. Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris, 1969, Iolas Gallery, New York, 1973
6. Trucioli e calamita, 1968, metal shavings and magnet, ambient size.
8. Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris, 1969
7. Lente solare, 1987- 1988, iron, copper, magnet, cm 127 x 540 x 25
7. XLIII Biennale d'Arte (personal room), Venice 1988
Fourth room
8. Capta segnali, 2003- 2004, iron and magnet, cm 172 x 187.
8. Created for the exhibition.
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