Curated by Alfredo Cramerotti and Elsa Barbieri

Marignana Arte
Venice, from 7 May to 7 September 2019

Opening: Tuesday, 7 May, 5:00 – 10:00 pm
Special openings: from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 May, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm

Inspired by Max Weber’s theory, whereby for studying a social action without reducing its particularities to a collection of individual events we must start from the perception that the individual has of the real world, this ongoing exhibition project is designed as a speculative tool which makes possible to measure reality: the ideal-type (Idealtypus).
Athanasios Argianas, Maurizio Donzelli, Nancy Genn, Artur Lescher, James Lewis, Alice Pedroletti, Antonio Scaccabarozzi, and Verónica Vázquez, are the eight international artists invited to formulate an artistic language that visually translates the thought relationships when trying to set out a concept; they do so through the dialogue between their respective art works, and with gallery spaces. A methodological paradigm that is never traceable empirically in its conceptual purity, the ideal-type is intended as a utopia that shares characteristics with real objects, even if it does not correspond to any specific example. With it, the materiality of existence must be compared in order to illustrate the
significant elements of its empirical content.

It is thus a matter of adopting something imaginary or intangible to better understand the concrete. The concept does not copy real life but underlines its most intrinsic connections. Without any expectation of objectivity, the artists build a kind of seductive, meticulous and inconsistent verisimilitude to verify empirically. By isolating a particular phenomenon from the complex of interactions, and catching uniform elements in the repetition of the same, each one proceeds in structuring the ideal-type that operates as a unilateral and rational measuring device of reality.

The artworks on display question the viewers by encouraging them to develop always new readings on the being within a visual and spatial conversation. The three wall low reliefs from the series “Clay Pressings” (2016-18) by Athanasios Argianas suggest a liminal space where systems and mechanisms freely swap with intuition. The tapestry “Angelicato” (2014) by Maurizio Donzelli is the result of in-depth research about the manipulation of the image. Works on paper by Nancy Genn, “Construct Blu I” (2003),
“Construct Yellow” (2003) and “Rainbars 6” (2011), are earthy, solid, layered, full of spirituality. Their pure and raw material fits in the unique variations of colours and textures, releasing a sharp and delicate lyricism. The steel sculpture “Sem Título, Da Série Nexus #2” (2013) by Artur Lescher is composed of single pieces in suspension, which highlight their volume and deny the action of the force of gravity. The wood,
paint, resin and lead work by James Lewis, “Diseases of Warm Lands (Rhombus)” (2018), corresponds to an extinct star constellation and is a visual monument to the impossibility of defining the parameters of human understanding and endeavours. “Study for a sculpture” (2016-19) by Alice Pedroletti is a series of photographs and paper sculptures, accompanied by sketches, that recreate a hypothetical landscape. They are fragile and temporary prototypes that constitute a city inspired by organic shapes. The works from the series “Essenziali” (1990-95) by Antonio Scaccabarozzi are self-representations of the pictorial body; free strokes of pure colour, wide, oblique, accurate and strong, without any support. Result of the interpretation of the practise of assemblage and contemporary weaving, “De la série tapices con metales” (2016), “Escultura en acero I” (2016), and “Sin Título” (2018) by Verónica Vázquez express the reperforming value of the material

Artists:
Athanasios Argianas (1976, Athens, Greece; lives and works in London)
Maurizio Donzelli (1958, Brescia, Italy; lives and works in Brescia)
Nancy Genn (1930, San Francisco, United States; lives and works in San Francisco)
Artur Lescher (1962, São Paulo, Brazil; lives and works in São Paulo)
James Lewis (1986, London, England; lives and works in Vienna)
Alice Pedroletti (1978, Milan, Italy; lives and works in Milan)
Antonio Scaccabarozzi (1936 – 2010, Lecco, Italy)
Verónica Vázquez (1970, Treinta y Tres, Uruguay; lives and works in Uruguay)