Metamorphosis

On show at the Museo d’arte Mendrisio, “Metamorphosis” is a group exhibition that look at contemporary sculpture with works of over twenty artists.

The Museo d’arte Mendrisio presented “Metamorphosis”, a group exhibition that looks at contemporary sculpture. Visitors are taken on a journey through works created as complex forms that make their way back to organic structures and natural origins. It does so both through traditional materials, such as wood, bronze and marble, and through the characteristic materials of contemporary sculpture, such as, plastic and aluminium.

<b>Top:</b> Penelope Margaret Hackworth-Praed, <i>Pleyadi. The other side of the sky</i>, 2017, installation. Courtesy Penelope Margaret Mackworth-Praed. <b>Above:</b> Carlo Borer, <i>White Heart</i>, 2013, textile and steel – multimedia installation. Courtesy Carlo Borer
Ean Arp, <i>Petit figure appuyée dite “LʼEgyptienne”</i> e <i>Petit sphinx</i>, 1938-42, bronze. Courtesy Fondazione Marguerite Arp, Locarno
Selina Baumann, <i>Skelett</i>, 2013, ceramic. Courtesy Selina Baumann
Claudia Losi, <i>Brain (2 pieces)</i>, 2008, terracotta, vinegar. Courtesy Claudia Losi and Monica De Cardenas Gallery

  What these forms have in common is their complexity, eccentricity and artificiality, which all attract the curiosity of the viewer, just like the famous Wunderkammern appealed in the sixteenth century. These “cabinets of curiosities”, which were collected, preserved and displayed by princes and royal families, were filled with bizarre and original objects that would surprise and amaze.

Matteo Emery, Borborigmi, 2017, inner tubes and iron – installation. Courtesy Matteo Emer

“Metamorphosis” is a journey into labyrinthine, molecular, indefinable forms, which are indeed a reflection of the organic world, but especially one that is manipulated and magnified by an inner psychic and dreamlike dimension. The exhibition in the premises of the former Convento dei Serviti is a journey through contemporary naturalia and artificialia, in the works of 24 artists from Ticino, Switzerland and a number of countries around the world. Some are famous, and different generations interact with each other to create, each in their own unique way, a unified whole that constitutes a cross-section of the directions that contemporary art is moving in today.

Benedetta Mori Ubaldini, Landscape #1, 2017, painted wire mesh – installation. Courtesy Benedetta Mori Ubaldini


until 25 June 2017
Metamorfosi
curated by Museo d’arte Mendrisio with Daniele Agostini
Museo d’arte Mendrisio
piazzetta dei Serviti 1, Mendrisio