Re-designed

To mark the forthcoming Milan Furniture Fair, the Lia Rumma Gallery in Milan is pleased to announce the opening of a collective exhibition which brings together works by artists of different generations: Joseph Kosuth, Marzia Migliora, Julian Opie, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Haim Steinbach, Vedovamazzei, Drè Wapenaar, and Christopher Williams. With different approaches and intentions, the selected works examine the complex relationship between art and the object and the different possibilities that this can create in the field of artistic thought. By means of fairly explicit references and ideas, some of the works on display reflect the frequent crossovers between art and design or take the object and its image as the theme of analysis. Showertent (1997) by Drè Wapenaar is a structure/sculpture with specific functions and functional characters. By combining elements of design and architecture, Wapenaar’s works allude to the archetypes of associated life and represent a reflection about the ways in which groups of people or individuals interact with each other. Marzia Migliora, with the work ...Sono sgusciato dalla tua pienezza senza lasciarti vuota perché il vuoto l’ho portato con me... (2007), takes her inspiration from a small vase made of ceramic and kaleidon glaze designed by Gio Ponti. With its round form that evokes the drawing of an accommodating and containing belly, the vase becomes the archetypal image of fertility, leading the artist to make a poetic reflection on emotional relationships. Julian Opie’s work is represented by a sculpture Untitled of 1988 that simulates an ordinary object, a radiator, with an essential form. In his sculptures made during this period, Opie reproduces anonymous, undefined forms that refer to generic objects, such as refrigerators, display cabinets, and air vents. Lampada in prospettiva (Lamp in perspective, 1962-82) by Michelangelo Pistoletto is a work from the series of mirrors, on whose surface a lamp is reproduced. The object is used as a scenic element of a work that reflects and celebrates the reciprocity between life and art. Little Thonet (2008) by Vedovamazzei represents an example of an object detournement: an old Thonet chair is exhibited in a crystal showcase; the chair has undergone alterations that would make it impossible to use, with the back being placed horizontally so that it is no longer functional. The works of Haim Steinbach are made of casually found objects taken from everyday life and arranged on shelves in relation to objects of a different nature. His research focuses on the object and its presentation, focusing on the dynamics of display reflected in the attention shown towards chromatic combinations and formal references related to position, dimension, function, and movement. The exhibit contains a shelf dedicated to Armando Testa of 1996. The series of four photographs of 1996 by Christopher Williams depicts the Valentine model of the Olivetti typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass. Using photography, the American artist approaches reality with a cold, analytical gaze, focusing his attention on the anonymous presence of everyday objects, machines and industrial objects, depicted in their objective, realistic presence. A recent work by Joseph Kosuth entitled Clear word Clear sight (2008) will be displayed in which reflection about art becomes a form of reflection on space as well.