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The research began by chance, after a return trip
from America, with a series of sculptures entitled
"The Chimneys of Venice" and continued with
other works presented in various Italian and American
galleries.
"At the beginning, I was interested in glass
as a means to express architectonic forms present
in my mind. I liked the Venetian chimneys, not only
because I was surrounded by them, but also because
they seemed like architecture in miniature. And in
fact, by means of a study of their geometric forms
and the infinite possibilities offered by composition
and "decomposition", I hypothesized "A
City Above" that then became the theme of an
exhibit I presented at Grandesign in 1995.
For me, the chimney becomes the prototype of a form
that is in a sense "indifferent" to its
original function, a form, that is, no longer linked
to normal biological rhythms, but rather one that
becomes a return to categories of memory.
Venice is full of these architectural structures that
I define "distracted architecture" such
as fountains without water, wells, chimneys, columns
sustaining nothing, empty houses.
Reinterpreting them meant expressing them as a metaphor,
that is ,to experiment with the use of the useless.
Liberated from its function, the chimney could thus
become a glass vase, a lamp, a building, a city, simply
by changing its dimensions.
I hypothesized a tower-like structure and inserted
it into various contexts, both living and urban ones;
I constructed a series of elements, transformed the
tower into a vase from which an enormous "ikebana"
descends, and transformed the vase into a tower.
I then passed on to the study of the material itself,
that is, glass, as a possible means of expressing
itself by imitating something different. I was able
to create the effect of crumbling plaster and the
metallic effect of moon craters."
The chimneys were exhibited at the S. Niccolo' Gallery
in Venice and at the "La Fornasotta" stand
during the Grandesign Exhibition of 1995. They were
published in "Elle" and "Il Fascicolo"
magazines and the "Excelsior" newspaper
of Mexico City. They are now in private collections
in America and France.
Inevitably, my interest in form led to an interest
in " points" of equilibrium.
Thus the "Ikebana" series was born: the
putting together of rather fragile objects created
with the lampwork technique and then hand-painted.
The study included the creation of a number of perfume
bottles with stoppers held down by their own weight,
or that, to the contrary, rise up like an Olympian
bow , candleholders in which pointed barbs balanced
by extremely fine fishhooks are inserted, swinging
spherical containers, stoppers in the shape of a heart
or a gymnast's ring.
The choice of color lines accentuates dynamism and
creates rotating movement.
The entire "Ikebana series" was bought by
the "Design Center" of Boca Raton, Florida.
During this same period, the Belvetro Gallery of Miami
was organizing an exhibit entitled "Aids Under
Glass".
As one of the artists invited to participate in the
show, I was shocked to discover that 40% of the population
of Miami is HIV positive.
My proposal in glass, called "Excalibur",
was a sphere, 30 cm in diameter, with a flat base
slightly off center to give the idea of movement caused
by the lancing of a sword from above.
Like the sword, the sphere, with red points to symbolize
the virus, was worked ad incalmo. A small Jesus fashioned
in lamp work by Lucio Bubacco, hangs downward.
The meaning of the sculpture: God casts the sword/cross
onto the world, which is the Aids virus. The sword/cross
pierces through the virus and Jesus, nailed on the
cross by the spear, dangles downward to one side.
"HIV Positive" is written on the cross.
Jesus takes the disease, that afflicts the earth,
upon himself to save the world for the second time.
At the time, criticism was negative. Despite the accusation
of blasphemy, the sculpture was chosen for the exhibit
and sold three days after its inauguration.
In 1998, the theme of "Aperto Vetro" (Open
Glass) was "Venetian Glass and the Four Seasons".
Thus "Apache Summer" was born - a series
of filigree leaves mounted on a bamboo pedestal, symbol
of the tree. Lying at the foot of the tree are other
leaves created with the same technique.
"Apache Summer" was not only chosen for
this important exhibition but was also selected to
be put on permanent display at the Centro Thethis
, where it shown together with works by well-known
artists such as Livio Seguso.
With "Apache Summer", I again took up my
passion for naturalistic themes such as the leaf,
the seed, and stones that had previously inspired
me to design objects such as "Stones" and
"Tropical Bird", derived from an interest
in Zen gardens as reduced-scale examples of, for the
most part, monochrome universes.
When I created "Stones", for example, I
intended to arrive at a natural form with sharp edges,
having the monumental character of the stones utilized
in the famous Daisen-in, perhaps the most beautiful
example of a Zen garden. To accentuate its monumental
nature, I inserted a small palm-shaped origami into
the top of one of the stones: from its size in proportion
to the stone, one has gains idea that the stone is
a mountain. This is the sense that I mean when I speak
of the miniature universe of the Zen gardens.
The "Navajo" vases created subsequently,
constitute a symbolic and abbreviated form of the
same concept and they too, refer to the ikebana works,
in the sense of fusion between the contained and the
container, the same theme that pervades all of the
experimentation from the times of "Chimneys".
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