Around fifteen recent pieces are displayed in the unique space of the largest exhibition hall at the foundation, and other more “historic” pieces are integrated into the renewed path of the permanent collection.
This exhibition, presented from this autumn at the Fondation Maeght, is dedicated to one of the major figures of Arte Povera, Pier Paolo Calzolari. An Italian sculptor and performer born in 1943, Calzolari has created a highly original body of work that reveals the poetics of the object. Essentially sculptural, his work features stagings where mythology, art history, and everyday life meet to create meaning.
Arte Povera emerged in 1967, coined by art critic Germano Celant. An attitude rather than a movement, Arte Povera has advocated since then for work that establishes a critical dialogue with the cultural industry and consumer society. This artistic movement can be considered the most pertinent and critical response to American Pop Art. Using unpretentiously artistic materials and a minimum of signs, these “poor art” artists work with the ephemeral, while also soliciting audience participation. Arte Povera aims to be elusive, mobile, nomadic, and emphasizes gesture.
In this exhibition, Pier Paolo Calzolari presents around fifteen highly original sculptural pieces. He showcases very recent works (2006-2008) in the “council room” of the foundation, as well as more “historic” works in the path of the permanent collection. The simple objects and materials (salt, wood, leather, lead, copper, cotton, leaves…) he uses reveal their transformation and seem to experience a second life. With his choices, Pier Paolo Calzolari materializes his concept of the present, the underlying theme being a reflection on the mystery of time. By incorporating movement, light, or frost, he lends his works a particularly distinctive poetry. Visitors actively participate in the interpretation as the stimulation of the senses goes beyond sight: according to Calzolari, “place, person, time, each influences the other.”
When the dreamer dies, what remains of the dream?
