The Brixia Roman Archaeological Area is preparing for a unique event, where highly contemporary art and archaeology come together. Fabrizio Plessi, 1940, an artist resident in Venice, has redesigned Brixia, the Archaeological Area of Brescia, the 2023 Italian Cultural Capital.
A pioneer of video art and video installations, Plessi has designed an immersive journey composed of installations, video-projections and digital environments, all molded on the Brixia Roman Archaeological Area and the Santa Giulia Museum.
A huge wedding ring in dripping gold, set between the columns on the facade of the Capitoline temple, in the very heart of the monumental complex, is undoubtedly the most spectacular symbol of the union between the artist, art and the city.
From 9 June 2023 to 7 January 2024, PLESSI SPOSA BRIXIA (Plessy marries Brixia) presents a project that defies all measure, occupying environments both monumental and digital. Plessi’s technological outlook provides an examination of the Roman archaeological complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, through sound, moving images, drawings and original sketches.
Curated by Ilaria Bognotti and promoted by the Municipality of Brescia, with the collaboration of the Brescia Museum Foundation, the exhibition is a new example of a format that was met with success in 2022 with the solo exhibition by Emilio Isgrò, and in 2021 with Francesco Vezzoli; Archaeological stages.
Plessi’s exhibition will also see the inauguration of the UNESCO Corridor, a walk of approximately one kilometre in length that can be accessed free of charge and that looks back over 1700 years of history, connecting the area of the Capitolium with the monumental complex of Santa Giulia, which could previously only be visited separately
The artist has managed to combine a new expression of art with a more archaeological viewpoint, one that has, perhaps more recently, gone out of fashion, where awareness and valorisation of artistic heritage are necessary and fundamental concepts in understanding the present. He does so through the Domus dell’Ortaglia, which play host to Underwater treasure, a work that examines ancient mosaics, transforming them into graphic patterns in which grand golden waves crash over the dark depths.
Colonne colanti is the title of the installation that draws on powerful critical symbolism to examine the concept of the column as an element of power due to its fundamental role in architecture. Plessi has melted the column, rendering it liquid to the point that it disappears into a golden pool, inviting the viewer to reflect both on the concept of power and VANAGLORIA as well as on the importance of humanity’s historical and artistic past.
The exhibition continues with Floating Santa Giulia, where Plessi digitally reproduces the figure of the Saint, offering a tribute to the church where it used to be exhibited.
The itinerary ends in the Hall of Frescoes at the Santa Giulia Museum, with more than eighty drawings, sketches and designs that Plessi has produced over the years, while planning the exhibition.
PLESSI MARRIES BRIXIA is one of the most important events for the summer in Lombardy and is not to be missed.
Openingi image: Fabrizio Plessi, PLESSI SPOSA BRIXIA, Brescia, Italy, 2023. Courtesy Fabrizio Plessi