Art as a transformation

This tells us about the exhibition dedicated to Paola Pezzi curated by Sabino Maria Frassà at Gaggenau DesignElementi Hub in Milan until 31 July. “All existence is a change of state,” Frassà says. “We too, like matter, are subjected to pressures and changes in the external environment, which push us to transform ourselves continuously. The challenge is to always remain ourselves ". A philosophy that the artist, in the course of his career, has internalized: having reached success very young, he has never identified himself with a specific artistic form, evolving in a linear and coherent way as his existence changes. "Passaggi di Stato showcases the continuum of this transformation of materials and ideas, a metaphor for existence. The whiteness of the matter marks how the passage of state 'from water to ice' has been and is a 'natural', almost physiological evolution, in which the point of arrival today, contains in itself, without denying it, all the past , which perhaps is not so past ”, continues the curator.

The importance of the gesture

The leitmotif of the narrative is the importance of the gesture as a tool for planning and creating the work. If the first works were the result of a gesture of winding, of a centripetal spiral towards the inside (the artist enveloped himself, in a gesture between catharsis and protection), in the early 2000s the opening of the original spiral arrived: the creative movement becomes more and more centrifugal, starting from a central origin towards the outside. Paola Pezzi's art begins to reflect on the impact of the self on others, on the meaning of doing and being an artist. Her most recent art emanates a contagious energy: spirals and windings move in space in different materials. The artistic gesture disciplines and dominates the material, giving life to forms in which the dimension of becoming is clear. A becoming to be looked at with curiosity, waiting for a new change of state.

Experiment with light

And then there is the whiteness of the material: after the first works, characterized almost by a rejection of the light that was captured by the material, the last twenty years of his career are dedicated to works that generate and move light, even when the color chosen is black. The darkness no longer exists. So here are experiments with new plastic and textile materials, taken from everyday life, in which the tactile, almost sensual dimension is always strong, which establishes an immediate empathy with the viewer.

The Materiabilia project

The exhibition (Monday / Friday, 10.00 / 18.30) is the first of the artistic and cultural project "Materiabilia", promoted by Gaggenau and Cramum: a cycle of four exhibitions in Milan and Rome, curated by the artistic director of Cramum Sabino Maria Frassà, to tell the story of the material that marvels through the human genius. Visits open to the public by appointment only after contacting e-mail or telephone: gaggenau@designelementi.it - 00390229015250 (extension 2).

Entry into the showroom is allowed in compliance with current legislation on Covid-19 safety.