GROUP EXHIBITION

Giovanni Anselmo’s notable interest in the force of gravity and energy of the Earth, in our connection with the cosmos,dates back to an August day in 1965 when, after climbing to the top of Mount Stromboli, he had a searing observation ofhis own shadow projected towards ‘infinity.’ This seminal experience has infused his practice to this day. Il sentiero versooltremare (1992–2023) consists of a path of earth traced on the floor that connects two vertical stripes of ultramarinepaint applied on two opposing walls. The blue pigment, originally sourced from imported lapis lazuli, signifies a windowto a distant horizon. In keeping with his practice of associating several old pieces, Giovanni Anselmo creates a newproposal by linking the path to one of his emblematic works, Direzione (1967–2023). Consisting of a compass embeddedin a block of granite, it indicates with precision the direction of the Earth’s magnetic North Pole. While one of theprojections of Particolare (1972–2023) is oriented directly to the granite block, the other is pointed in another directionwithin the space, becoming visible only on furtive contact with a body or an object. The notions of visibility and infinitudeare further investigated in Particolare del lato in alto della prima I di Infinito 25.04.75 (1975), a series of graphite drawingson paper which reveal only a ‘visible and measurable detail’ of the concept of infinity, in the form of the letter i.

In his multidisciplinary practice, Lothar Baumgarten referred to different systems of thought and representations,focusing on non-Western cosmogonies and cultures. Created prior to his initiatory journey to South America whichinvolved an eighteen-month stay with the Yanõmami indigenous community in southern Venezuela, the early workKosmos (1969) is composed of hazelnut wood branches and a figure of a bird in paper wrapped in a map of theconstellations. Echoing his iconic film Origin of the Night (Amazon Cosmos), (1973–1977) which references the myth ofthe origin of the night for the Tupi people, the 1969 work links terrestrial ecosystems to the immensity of space. Likehis photographs from the series Culture-Nature (Manipulated Reality) (1968–9172) as well as his ephemeral sculpturalinterventions all conceived at the same time in the Rhineland, Kosmos transports us by thought, momentarily, elsewhere.

Considering forms as fluid and fragile, Marisa Merz would reshape her earlier works in varying arrangements based onthe exhibition space by employing humble materials and non-traditional techniques. The correlation between naturalmaterials and the idea of infinity is also significant in her work, through the representation of human forms that liebetween abstraction and figuration. A prominent example is Cielo e Terra (2005), where the artist juxtaposed a largedrawing with spray paint and pastel on Japanese paper and a small clay sculpture placed on a tall tripod, as is Untitled(2004), a drawing with graphite, spray paint and gold pigment on paper. These feminine and enigmatic forms inhabitMerz’s work like spiritual or ghostly figures, seeming to float through time and space, and relying, in turn, on theimagination of the viewers to detach them from reality.

Acclaimed for his subtle exploration of colour and light, Ettore Spalletti has founded a minimal aesthetic throughpictorial or sculptural works, which, when presented simultaneously, often form an immersive installation. Themonochrome works Così com’è, luna (2018) and Senza titolo, (grigio chiaro) (2019) result from the unchangingprocess initiated by the artist in the early 1970s – the meticulous application of multiple layers of impasto at the sametime of each day over the course of weeks. Like all his work, they are inspired by the landscapes of Abruzzo, the regionon the Adriatic coast of Italy where the artist has lived and worked all his life. Each color recalls a specific elementof the natural panorama that surrounded the artist. Whether set in alabaster in Scatola di colore (1991) or appliedon wooden panels in Così com’è, luna, the colored material encloses space and time. But what is to be contemplatedis not so much this materiality as the spirituality infused into the work.

The title of the exhibition D’ici à l’infini is taken from Anne Rorimer’s essay Giovanni Anselmo: From here toinfinity, 1965 - 2015 published in the exhibition catalogue of the artist at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’ArteContemporanea, Rivoli-Torino in 2016.

Giovanni Anselmo was born in 1934 in Borgofranco d’Ivrea in Italy, he lives and works in Turin. He is considered as oneof the key protagonists of the Arte Povera movement at the end of the 1960s. He received the prestigious Golden LionAward at the Venice Biennale in 1990. His first solo show was organized in 1973 by Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne,Switzerland. His work has been and continues to be widely exhibited in Europe and the United States at museums suchas Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Roma, Italy (2020); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice, Italy (2017); Castellodi Rivoli, Torino, Italy (2016); Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Etienne Métropole, France (2015);Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2013); Galeria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna (Italy); S.M.A.K, Ghent, Belgium(2005); Museum Kurhaus, Kleve, Germany (2004); Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, Belgium (2002); The RenaissanceSociety, Chicago, United States (1997) or l’ARC, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (1985).

Lothar Baumgarten was born in 1944 in Rheinsberg, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany in 2018. He wasawarded the Golden Lion, First Prize of the 41st Venice Biennale, Italy (1984). Baumgarten exhibited internationally andmajor solo shows have been held in museums such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Palaciode Cristal, Madrid, Spain (2016); Fundación Botín, Santander, Spain (2012); Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany(2011); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2009); Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Spain (2008); MuseumKurhaus, Kleve, Germany (2006); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA (2003); Hamburger Kunsthalle,Hamburg, Germany (2001); National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan (1996); Solomon R.Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (1993); Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA (1987); Musée National d’ArtModerne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (1987); and ARC/Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France(1986).

Marisa Merz was born in 1926 in Turin, Italy where she lived and worked until her death in 2019. She is one of the only women artists associated with Arte Povera. In 2013 Marisa Merz was awarded the Golden Lion forLifetime Achievement. The Sky Is a Great Space, the first major American retrospective exhibition, was held at theMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, in 2017, and then presented in Europeat the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, and the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, in 2018. Her museumsolo shows include those at The Philadelphia Museum of Art (2019-2022); MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea,Roma (2016); Serpentine Gallery, London (2013); Fondazione Merz, Turin (2012); Fondazione Querini Stampalia,Venice (2011); Centre international d’art et du paysage, Ile de Vassivière (2010); Museo MADRE, Naples (2007);Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2003 and 1995 ); Galleria d’Arte Moderna Villa delle Rose, Bologna (1998); StedelijkMuseum, Amsterdam (1996); Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1994).

Ettore Spalletti was born in 1940 in Cappelle sul Tavo (Pescara), Italy where he lived and worked up until his death in2019. Spalletti has been the subject of major international exhibitions at the Galleria Nazionale d’arte moderna econtemporanea, Rome, Italy (2021); Nouveau Musée National d Monaco, Monaco, France (2019); Palazzo Cini, Venice,Italy (2015) and a retrospective simultaneously presented at three Italian institutions: MADRE – Museo d’ArteContemporanea Donnaregina, Naples, GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, and MAXXI –Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome (2014). Other notable solo exhibitions include GNAM – GalleriaNazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome (2010); Académie de France, Villa Medici, Rome (2006); the Henry Moore Institute,Leeds (2005); Castello di Rivoli - Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Turin (2004); Fundación la Caixa, Madrid (2000);Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg (1998); MUHKA – Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp(1995); and Museum Folkwang, Essen (1982).