T E A K
I S S U E
•
n ° 1 3
•
2 0 1 8
84 © GALLERIA PAOLA COLOMBARI, MILANO
Trash materials repurposed as works of art have been a creative medium for many artists since the early 1900s
PRECIOUS WASTE
[ ART ON BOARD ]
© MAGNAN METZ GALLERY, NEW YORK
Opening, Andrea de Carvalho, Mondos II, 2017. To side and below, Juan Roberto Diago, Untitled, 2010 Variaciones de Oggun and Untitled series, 2015, El Alma de las cosas series. Bottom, Julian Schnabel,
© PACE GALLERY, NEW YORK
© MAGNAN METZ GALLERY, NEW YORK
Rose Painting (Near Van Gogh’s Grave), 2016
by Micaela Zucconi
M
etal, wood, fragments of all kinds of material, including trash. Waste transformed into masterworks that helped write the story
of 20th century art. Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades opened the way for many other artists to become enthusiastic recyclers - Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Pino Pascali, Arman and César, up to great contemporary artists like Michelangelo Pistoletto and Tony Cragg. The trend has also been adopted by the multidisciplinary Julian Schnabel, who recently presented a new version of his famous Plate Paintings series, first introduced in the late 1970s. These are large works made from hundreds of fragments
Need to Know About”. His minimalist language evokes Arte Povera,
of plates and pigments that create a homogenous surface recalling the
but he has deep links with Afro-Cuban culture and the memories of
rhythms of nature. He drew inspiration from the roses growing near Van
slavery. One of his most famous series of works is the Variaciones de
Gogh’s grave in the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise, France. Schnabel was
Oggun, where wood and metal refer to fragmentation and ethnic and
able to create these works by employing a material – bondo – normally
religious breakdown. They are also a tribute to the figure of Ogun, a
used as a filler in car bodywork repair. The New Plate Paintings were
warrior and powerful spirit of metalwork, worshipped by the Afro-
displayed a few months ago at New York’s Pace Gallery. By breaking
Cuban Abakuá community. The pieces of wood and metal from cans
down artistic conventions, these personalities opened the door to a new
are intentionally allowed to retain their original colours and battered
generation of artists, like Cuba’s Juan Roberto Diago (born in 1971), who
appearance, communicating an introspective vision of the Cuba of
was included by Christie’s in 2015 in their “Six Contemporary Artists You
today. The works of Andrea de Carvalho (a Brazilian who lives in 86
[ ART ON BOARD ]
Italy) are more light-hearted, but equally complex. She works by assembling, sewing, shaping and cutting out, a method that forms the basis for a large number of her eclectic, cutting-edge works. This process is the result of a creative journey nurtured by a variety of experiences, including research into fashion in Paris before returning
Above: left, the Brazilian artist Andrea de Carvalho; right, César, Bas-relief, 1961 (steel and painted pieces of canvas), Centre Pompidou, part of César. La Rétrospective, until 26 March. Bottom, Vik Muniz, Verso (Starry Night), 2008, part of the Verso exhibition at the Belvedere Superiore, Vienna, from 21 March to 17 June
to painting. She then discovered the artistic potential of enhanced by glazed ceramics, iron, paint and found materials like old photos. Take, for example, Mondos II, where recovered, repurposed elements evoke memories of travel, as well as her adoptive Italian and original cultural identities. The installations are joined by thirdfiring ceramic jewellery with gold and platinum. Vik Muniz, though, is a proponent of genuine Trash Art. This Brazilian artist is famous for his social commitment expressed through works made using refuse picked from Rio de Janeiro’s huge waste tips. In his Verso series (on show at the Upper Belvedere in Vienna from 21 March to 17 June) he looks at the reverse side of art works, with their notes, labels and customs stamps. Finally, mention must be made of the late César Baldaccini (1921-88), who worked under the name of César, and his industrial metal waste sculptures. 20 years after his death, the Centre Pompidou is dedicating an impressive retrospective to him (until 26 March). The inspiration for a constantly-expanding creative universe.
86
© COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND SIKKEMA JENKINS & CO., NY
ceramics in Italy, leading to her installations becoming