South likes: Gianni Piacentino at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome
Gianni Piacentino, BLUE-SILVER SMALL POLE AND PRUSSIAN-GRAY HORIZONTAL BAR, 1966-1967, polyester-coated and painted wood. Photo: Giorgio Benni
South likes: Gianni Piacentino at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome
Gianni Piacentino 1965 – 2000
Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, Italy
8 February – 5 April, 2014
Gianni Piacentino is one of those figures that is impossible to frame in a specific movement, especially if we consider the Italian artistic scene of the last fifty years. This exhibition, curated by Andrea Bellini, contributes to place the work of the artist among the most interesting episodes in recent Italian art history. Gianni Piacentino’s practice is as complex as rich with references to the culture that influenced it. After a short and early experience within the movement of Arte Povera, Piacentino soon elaborated a very original and personal practice that can be recognized as one of the very few manifestations of Minimalism in Italy. But except for the incidental visual resemblance to Minimalist sculpture, the cultural context where Piacentino cultivated his peculiar aesthetics creates a different set of references to read his work. The geometrical sculptures created by the artist are in fact reminiscent of the same visual culture envisioned by Ettore Sottsass. Not to speak of the polished perfection achieved by surface of these sculptures, which is a reminder of the then-roaring industrial sector. The series of small two- and three-wheeled vehicles devised by Piacentino look indeed like a homage to the achievement of an old longing for an aesthetic of speed. Halfway between a sculpture and an industrial prototype, these objects refer to a well-digested futurist imagery as well as to the athletic deeds of motorbike champions of the 1970s and the 1980s like Giacomo Agostini and Graziano Rossi. The exhibition at the Fondazione Giuliani is indeed a unique opportunity to discover this singular artistic figure, who proved himself capable of conceiving a totally new and personal style to interpret the society of his times.
Michelangelo Corsaro
Gianni Piacentino, RED-PURPLE RECTANGLE-TRIANGLE, 1966-1967, polyester-coated and painted wood. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino, METALLOID DARK-PURPLE WALL-TRAPEZIUM SCULPTURE, 1967-1968, water base metal colour on wood. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino, EX 3D, 1965, acrylic on canvas. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino, MA F.F., 1965, enamel and acrylic on canvas. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino, BLACK TRIANGLE VEHICLE WITH GRAY FENDER, 1969-1972, painted iron, nickel-plated bronze and brass. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino, DARK AMARANTH FRAME VEHICLE WITH BLUE-GRAY TRIANGLE TANK, 1971-72, nitro-acrylic enamel on iron and wood, rubber, mahogany stand. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino 1965 – 2000, installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2014. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino 1965 – 2000, installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2014. Photo: Giorgio Benni
Gianni Piacentino 1965 – 2000, installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2014. Photo: Giorgio Benni
