Regina. Della Scultura
2021
Client: GAMeC
REGINA. DELLA SCULTURA
curated by Chiara Gatti and Lorenzo Giusti
On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, the first major museum retrospective dedicated to Regina Cassolo Bracchi, one of the most fascinating figures on the 20th century European art scene, opens to the public.
Born from the acquisition of an important nucleus of works by the artist by GAMeC and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the exhibition brings together 250 works within a path that spans 50 years of activity.
Exhibition design curated by Studio Francesco Faccin
The installation is made with a single material: raw, untreated iron.
This choice is motivated by various reasons that emerged clearly during the development of the concept.
The first is the relationship that the installation establishes with the austere and intimate museum context; the GAMeC building was in fact an ancient monastery in the fifteenth century, built with sincere and solid materials. It was restored at the end of the nineties, by the architect Vittorio Gregotti, who strengthened its character by making the space more neutral and suitable for exhibition needs.
Basalt stone, ceilings with ancient beams and oak floors were the main architectural features to which the project had to adapt.
The second reason, certainly not less important, is the dialogue with the works on display, strongly characterized by the research on different materials, with two-dimensional elements shaped and transformed into plastic and three-dimensional forms through folding and cutting operations.
The decision to work with a single material, iron, used in its raw state and without any treatment, ensures easy disposal at the end of the exhibition, optimizing production processes and allowing us to produce the entire installation by referring to a single supplier.
The client requested to add to the gallery a system that could be partially reusable, in this sense, iron seemed the most suitable material thanks to its extraordinary durability.
The system is based on a single element, a stand, which can be used alone or in a modular sequence and which can be modified in height thanks to bayonet poles.
The flat, plain surface on the floor ensures the safety distance without being perceived as a dissuader but creating a visually neutral area that enhances and exalts the work, making it perceived almost as suspended.
The vertical element of the stand hides a system ofholes that makes the placement of the artworks easy, both horizontally and vertically.
The modules, arranged in a linear sequence, form islands at the center of the rooms that allow to design paths through the exhibition.
The system is completed by hanging plates, also made of iron, that allow to fix to the wall bas-reliefs and sculptures that are particularly delicate or that do not need to be enjoyed at 360 degrees.
Catalogue photos by Delfino Sisto Legnani
Expo Catalogue
Project manager: Veronica Camera
Project assistant: Alberto Manca
Ph. Credits: Veronica Camera, Studio Francesco Faccin