Sprovieri
Converting Words, la prima mostra personale presso la galleria dell'artista italiana Micol Assaël, presenta quattro sculture recenti le quali mostrano elementi chiave della pratica dell’Artista. La sua vasta ricerca indaga fenomeni e forze naturali e fisiche, l'interazione di materiali ordinari e oggetti comuni con l'ambiente circostante e l'essere umano e la sua percezione sensoriale. Il risultato finale è un’asimmetria armonica ed equilibrata, composta da elementi scelti per le loro proprietà fisiche, comunicative e connettive: legno, vetro, vecchi telefoni, assi del pavimento, travi, isolatori in ceramica per le linee ad alta tensione.
Micol Assaël nasce a Roma nel 1979, attualmente vive e lavora tra l’Italia e la Grecia. Il lavoro dell'artista indaga le caratteristiche della materia, i fenomeni fisici, le forze e la loro interazione con l'essere umano e la sua esperienza. Il background di Assaël in filosofia è sempre stato combinato con il suo fascino per i fenomeni naturali, le teorie tecnologiche e i macchinari (utilizza elettricità, suono e materiali organici come il legno e l'acqua per evocare i pericoli e i disagi inaspettati della natura). Il suo lavoro agisce sulla risposta cognitiva e sensoriale dello spettatore, generando situazioni imprevedibili e scomode che comportano reazioni fisiche e psicologiche. Tra le recenti personali dell’artista ricordiamo: Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milano (2014); Museion, Bolzano (2010); Secession, Vienna; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel; Palais de Tokyo, Parigi (2009); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Roma (2008); Basel Kunsthalle, Basilea (2007). Tra le mostre collettive: Quadriennale di Roma, Roma (2020), De Hallen, Haarlem (2013); Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev (2012); MdM Rupertinum, Salisburgo (2011); Fondazione Giuliani, Roma (2010); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2009). Ha partecipato inoltre alla Biennale di Sydney e San Paolo (2008); Berlino (2006); Mosca (2005); Manifesta (2004); e due volte alla Biennale di Venezia (2003 e 2005).
Converting Words, the first solo show at the gallery of the Italian artist Micol Assaël, will feature four recent sculptures that present key elements of her practice. Her extensive research investigates natural and physical phenomena and forces, the interaction of ordinary materials and common objects with their surroundings and the human being and his sensorial perception. The final result is an harmonic and balanced asymmetry of elements chosen for their communicative and connective physical properties: wood, glass, old phones, floor planks, beams, ceramic insulators for high-voltage lines. In 意見 iken (opinion), opposing weights in balance with each other create a dynamic relation of forces referring to caution and moderation. In 学名 kumambaci (bee) the asymmetry is played by a support bolt and a small black marble wedge which fixes the anomalies, making them dynamic in relation to the viewer. A pallet surmounted by a wood composition including aluminium and wax elements resembling the model of a city crossed by a river, foresees a Rome of the future, an unheartly vision of the city subject to hidden forces and inevitably affected by climatic change. Each sculpture is as radical as is poetic: on an old window leaning against the wall appears the writing ‘reality is not contemporary’, traced in the dust that over time accumulated on the glass. The words glow when the window is traversed by light. The concreteness of the statement materialises on a fragile, transparent surface through ephemeral elements such as light and dust.
Micol Assaël was born in 1979 in Rome, Italy. She currently lives and works in Greece and Rome. The work of the artist investigates the characteristic of the matter, physical phenomena and forces and their interaction with the human being and his experience. Assaël’s background in philosophy has always been combined with her fascination with natural phenomena, technological theories and machineries (she uses electricity, sound, and organic materials like wood and water to evoke nature’s unexpected dangers and discomforts). Her work acts upon the cognitive and sensory response of the viewer, generating unpredictable and uncomfortable situations which involve physical and psychological reactions. Assaël’s most recent solo exhibitions include Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2014); Museion, Bolzano (2010); Secession, Vienna; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel; Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2009); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome (2008); Basel Kunsthalle, Basel (2007). Assaël participated in group exhibitions at Quadriennale di Roma, Rome (2020), De Hallen, Haarlem (2013); Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev (2012); MdM Rupertinum, Salzburg (2011); Fondazione Giuliani, Rome (2010); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2009). Her work was included in the Sydney Biennale and São Paolo Art Biennial (2008); Berlin Biennale (2006); Moscow Biennale (2005); Manifesta (2004); and the Venice Biennale (2003 and 2005).
