The exhibition takes its lead from the close relationship between the artist and the curators born on the occasion of the third edition of “Una Boccata d’Arte” (2022)—a contemporary art project spread throughout Italy—which saw Lucia Cantò as the protagonist of the intervention Restrizione emotiva (Emotional Restriction) in the village of Malamocco, in the province of Venice.
Presenting different evolutions of Lucia Cantò’s research lines, “Stelle che sorreggono altre stelle” focuses in particular on two aspects that characterise the artist’s most recent production: the vase as a significant presence in a space and the possible forms of collaboration with a temporary community. Two perspectives that, explored in their embryonic phase on the occasion of Restrizione Emotiva, are now deepened and put into relation by presenting a series of new works and amplifying the phases of participation in the artist’s work.
As curators Giovanni Paolin and Sara Maggioni state ““Stelle che sorreggono altre stelle” (Stars supporting other stars) wishes to get closer to people and become interwoven with relationships, welcoming the viewer and mimicking a living process, thanks to its own internal rhythm and the presence of an active workshop, aimed at stimulating a transformation in its participants. Indeed, the very circularity expressed by the words of the title recalls a constantly-renewed process of respiration that marks the passage of time.”
Flanking the exhibition is a workshop programme, started through an open call and began in September 2023, in which a group of participants, regardless of age, gender or profession, is asked to create a self-portrait in the form of a terracotta vase. An experience that also finds space during the first period of the exhibition, with the creation on the upper floor of the Fondazione of a working environment in which opportunities for poetic reflection, practical workshops and moments of process sharing are interwoven.
At the end of the workshop, the first floor will be transformed from a working space into a space dedicated to the exhibition of the collectively produced vases. To reflect this change, the structures in the room have been designed through a dialogue between the artist and Studio GISTO. This has resulted in a series of modules conceived for continuous transformation, possible through different ways of assembly, to facilitate processes, outcomes and at the same time shape a collective workspace.
The ground floor of the Fondazione is on the other hand dedicated to three new productions that introduce the artist’s vision, while also providing keys to the interpretation of the workshop. Madre (2023), Edilizia di un pensiero (2023) and Stellario (2023) are visible at the same time, managing to coexist while still remaining autonomous. Embracing forms that are dear to Cantò, all the works reason according to sharp contrasts and symbolic corporeity.
Madre (2023) is a terracotta sculpture comprising three units assembled to form a balanced whole, in which one element houses and at the same time conceals the junction of two others. Since ancient times, pottery production revolved around female communities and was aimed at the collective function of transforming and preserving food. This activity was inevitably linked to the female reproductive and transformative power. The sculptural body is a concretisation of a thought that stems from the collection of female voices, transcribed by the artist in notebooks during conversations with women close to her.
Composed of heterogeneous materials, the installation Edilizia di un pensiero (2023) confronts the visitor with strongly contrasting elements, whose dialogue conveys an idea of fragility. The scaffold edge protection structures, originally intended for creating a safe area and to deflect building materials falling from a construction site, have been overturned as regards their function, with their apertures housing a group of flowers facing outwards. The sculptural installation acts as a magnifying glass directed onto the inevitable drying process of the flowers, held and then allowed to fall over time, each following its own rhythm of life. This process helps the beholder to keep track of the different phases that give rise to “Stelle che sorreggono altre stelle,” as it shows temporary changes and transformations in its course.
Lastly, the sculpture Stellario (2023) takes its name from the object it is inspired by: a bronze crown with twelve stars, found by the artist during a stay in Naples. In the work presented, there is no hierarchy between the seven elements that compose it, but each of them collaborates with the others, supporting them and allowing itself to be supported. This work, which closes the exhibition on the ground floor and leads to the upper floor dedicated to the collective workshop, inspired the very title of the exhibition.
As indicated by the title, which refers to the delicacy of invisible cyclical relationships and the force generated by small constellations of points of light, “Stelle che sorreggono altre stelle” moves according to a rhythm marked by different life cycles, linked to the creation and life of the works themselves: a first moment in which the artist’s works and some results of the workshop are presented is followed by a second moment in which part of the exhibition layout is modified, transforming the work space into a place for the finished self-portraits.
Curated by
Giovanni Paolin and Sara Maggioni
at Fondazione Elpis, Milan
until February 4, 2024