Late one morning – Esther Kläs / Silke Otto-Knapp

Il Museo Marino Marini inaugura la stagione autunnale con due progetti inediti, a cura di Alberto Salvadori, prodotti dal museo, Girare con te di Esther Kläs (Mainz, 1981) e Cold climate di Silke Otto-Knapp (Osnabrück, 1970), prime assolute per le due artiste in spazi pubblici italiani.

Comunicato stampa

Il Museo Marino Marini inaugura mercoledì 24 settembre la stagione autunnale con due progetti inediti, a cura di Alberto Salvadori, prodotti dal museo, Girare con te di Esther Kläs (Mainz, 1981) e Cold climate di Silke Otto-Knapp (Osnabrück, 1970), prime assolute per le due artiste in spazi pubblici italiani.

Le due mostre si inseriscono nel programma espositivo di LATE ON MORNING, dedicato a una specifica ricerca e riflessione sulle possibili esperienze e modalità di interpretare e concepire oggi la scultura. Un vero e proprio percorso di workstudy in progress al quale hanno partecipato artisti italiani e internazionali che con la loro ricerca e il loro lavoro hanno esplorato ciò che un tempo poteva essere definito come limite delle forme.

Girare con te di Esther Kläs si compone di una serie di sculture realizzate dall’artista durante la sua residenza estiva a Carrara. Kläs, nata in Germania, vive e lavora a Broooklyn NY e si sta affermando come una delle promesse della scultura internazionale. Nonostante la sua giovane età ha già preso parte a importanti collettive come Art Unlimited a Basilea, presso il PS1 di New York, al Palais de Tokyo a Parigi, e a progetti di arte pubblica sia in Europa, a Colonia e Dusseldorf, che negli Stati Uniti, a New York.
La opere occuperanno parte della cripta del museo e costituiranno uno strumento di relazione e indagine tra la scultura di Marino Marini, l’artista tedesca, lo spazio del museo e il pubblico. Girare con te è girare insieme e attorno alla scultura, essere parte del processo dinamico e relazionale che la Scultura innesca in un rapporto tra opera, spazio e persona. La mostra è articolata in tre spazi, connaturati da sculture, che dalla verticalità e totemica presenza nello spazio arrivano alla primigenia forma della materia appoggiata al pavimento. Materiali di sintesi, di fusione e naturali sono usati dall’artista nel compimento del percorso formale e strutturale delle sue sculture. La mostra è interamente prodotta dal Museo Marino Marini che ringrazia le gallerie Spazio A di Pistoia e Peter Blum di New York.

Silke Otto-Knapp creerà, invece, all’interno del Marino Marini un sistema scenografico mobile che ridisegnerà lo spazio museale attraverso le sue tele. In Cold climate, titolo ispirato a Tender Buttons di Gertrude Stein, la pittura si propone come elemento generatore di nuove possibili interpretazioni dello spazio espositivo e accostandosi all’esperimento modernista della scrittrice americana, tende a un’inedita interpretazione linguistica e visiva dei significanti. Le tele assumono una loro vitalità, sia in relazione sia autonomamente una con l’altra, sorrette da leggere e mobili strutture in ferro autoportanti, si fanno altro ed escono dalla propria staticità bidimensionale, per confrontarsi a pratiche performative e sollevare in relazione ad esse tre quesiti: come la pittura costruisca uno spazio scenografico; come la pittura possa essere elemento e strumento performativo; come la pittura possa comunque rimanere un’entità autonoma e indipendente.
I soggetti dei quadri provengono dalla realtà, dall’osservazione di paesaggi, da immagini tratte da libri o da una visione diretta dell’artista, che testimonia l’interesse e l’amore per poeti, scrittori, danzatori. La dimensione reale del soggetto diventa oggetto d’indagine e tale processo di costruzione del dipinto imprime un tempo sequenza alle opere in grado di trasmettere l’aggregato di esperienze sensoriali e mentali dell’artista. La traduzione di tutto questo è nelle lievi e infinite variazioni tonali di una pittura dal sapore morandiano, dalle liquide superfici, testimonianze di passaggi di spugne e pennelli bagnati. L’immagine che vediamo è una successione di proposizioni che prima alludono, poi suggeriscono, fino a definire la presenza reale del soggetto.

Otto-Knapp è una delle più apprezzate pittrici contemporanee. La danza è al centro della sua ricerca ed è la disciplina da cui trovano ispirazione i suoi disegni. Di origine tedesca, vive a Los Angeles dove occupa la cattedra di Painting and Drawing presso UCLA; ha esposto in numerosi musei tra cui la Tate Britain a Londra, il Modern Art a Oxford, il Wiels Contemporary Art Center a Bruxelles.
Il progetto di Silke Otto-Knapp per il Marini include un programma di performance con la partecipazione di Ei Arakawa e Sergei Tcherepnin. Il Museo Marino Marini desidera ringraziare per la collaborazione le gallerie Greengrassi di Londra, Daniel Bucholz Berlino e Gavin Brown Enterprise di New York.

Fino all’8 di novembre il Marini ospita “Uroboro” James Lee Byars encounters Leon Battista Alberti. A cura di Alberto Salvadori, il progetto, anch’esso inedito, coinvolge per la prima volta, dalla sua riapertura al pubblico nel 2013, la Cappella Rucellai con il Tempietto di Leon Battista Alberti che si trova a dialogare e a confrontarsi con l’opera di un artista contemporaneo come James Lee Byars. Prorogata all’8 novembre anche la mostra Gio Ponti e la Richard Ginori: una corrispondenza inedita, a cura di Livia Frescobaldi Malenchini, Oliva Rucellai e Alberto Salvadori, promosso dall’Associazione Amici di Doccia, in collaborazione con il Museo Richard Ginori della Manifattura di Doccia, e realizzato grazie all’Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, con un contributo della Richard Ginori 1735, acquisita lo scorso anno da GUCCI. In esposizione una scelta selezionata di circa cinquanta pezzi, tra i meno conosciuti, provenienti dalla ricca collezione di ceramiche di Gio Ponti del Museo di Doccia, e una selezione di una trentina di lettere dell’architetto/designer, per la maggior parte inedite, provenienti dall’archivio della Manifattura di Doccia, con schizzi, disegni e indicazioni di fabbricazione.

in the paintings of silke otto knapp there is an overlapping of style elements that exemplify her artistic code. her painting is untranslatable, insofar as it is impossible reproduce, for it contains differences, and many gestures and countless watercolor washes and glazes, all of which make up the surface of the canvas.
the subjects of the canvases are drawn from reality, from the observation of landscapes, from images printed in books and from the artist’s own vision, which testifies to her interest in the work of writers choreographers and artists. the real dimension of the subject becomes the object of investigation, and this process of construction of the painting imprints a temporal sequence on the works. this translates into the subtle and infinite tonal variations of a painting style that recalls morandi, with liquid surfaces that record the passage of pigment applied and removed.

the image we see is a succession of propositions that first allude, then suggest, and ultimately define the real presence of the subject. it is in this process that the interest of silke otto knapp in the work and method of construction used by gertrude stein, particularly in tender buttons, from which the title of the exhibition, cold climate, is taken. the lexical deconstruction, syntax, discursive practice and logical consequentiality redefine every standard of language, to the point of achieving a personal and inimitable visual linguistics, both in stein and in otto knapp.
standing before her paintings, one can see, read and feel all of this; the closer one gets, the more one concentrates on the painting, the deeper these sensations register. her paintings trigger a process of viewing and representation that could be compared to a passage from tender buttons: a kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing. all this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling. the difference is spreading.(1)

the polysemy of stein’s writing runs parallel to the surfaces and chromatic variations in the painting of silke otto knapp, who uses gestures, signs and veils to suggest different experiences. her painting contains an intrinsic polysemic value, like the language of tender buttons, which demands from us a necessary effort of interlocution and interaction, creating a space of action that breaks from the surface, spreading.

in the crypt of the museo marino marini the canvases are presented, both in relation to one another and separately, supported by lightweight mobile structures in metal. they occupy and define a shifting architectural dimension of the exhibition space, each assuming their own singular identity, causing that intrinsic polysemic quality to emerge.
within this presentation the paintings are autonomous objects in space, that form a stage set. the reveal another element of the composition, of the narration: time, the time of viewing, of performative representation, of reading, of intellectual investigation.

(1) g. stein, tender buttons: objects, food, rooms, claire marie, new york, 1914

september 24, 2014
esther kläs - girare con te
curated by alberto salvadori
25 september – 8 november 2014

esther kläs presents the project 'girare con te' (moving with you), a series of sculptures made by the artist during her summer residence at carrara. ‘girare con te’ is the museo marino marini’s new production.

the sculptures will be housed in part of the museum’s crypt and will be a tool for interaction and investigation between the marino marini sculpture collection, esther kläs, the museum space and visitors. "girare con te " or ‘moving with you’ is about moving together and around the sculpture to be part of a dynamic and relational process triggered by the sculpture in a relationship between the work, the space and the person. kläs's work is characterized by primordial, almost totemic forms with a taste for the abstract. the works created for the exhibition trigger a relationship of closeness and investigation between viewer and object, between object and architectural space, defining an elegant and austere dialogue between the parties.

in the first work on exhibit, a series of six sculptures and four castings in aluminium, the materials are expressed in their raw form, embellished with fine colour details that isolate each element in a well-defined set. the group of sculptures in turn is enhanced with aluminium castings, signals that trace the material from the time in which the process of moulding the shape begins. kläs’ sculptures are seen in their initial state, where everything still needs to be defined and the materials express their physical characteristics, thus highlighting their authentic qualities.

instead, the small sanctuary of the crypt will house one of the few sculptures by the artist where the form shows an object, in this case a hand holding a tile fragment, bearing witness to kläs’ first-hand experience of following in the wake of robert smithson in rome. a fragment of past memory is made permanent with this evocative gesture.

in the last room two sculptures made of red granite are on exhibit with their dry and clear material qualities showing the traces of the extraction and cutting done in the quarry, giving the material the look of sculpting. on these surfaces, the artist has developed a system of circular marks by removing material and making the stones into true abstract objects.
kläs’ desire to abstract the real subject of the sculpture is the beginning of her creation, while the end result are works with a strong, archaic, timeless quality, thus placing her work in the past, present and future of sculptural practice.

may 29, 2014
“uroboros” - james lee byars encounters leon battista alberti

may 30 – november 8, 2014

opening, thursday, may 29, 7:00 pm

the marino marini museum in florence cordially invites you to the opening of the exhibition “uruboros”: james lee byars encounters leon battista alberti on thursday, may 29, at 7:00 pm. curated by the museum's artistic director alberto salvadori, this unique project involves leon battista alberti’s rucellai chapel and sepulchre, reopened to the public in 2013, which it places in an unprecedented dialogue with a work of contemporary art by the us-born artist james lee byars.
the uroboros (from the greek οὐροβόρος, tail-devouring snake) denotes the figure of a snake biting its own tail, endlessly catching up with itself and recreating itself to form a perfect circle. the symbol of the uroboros is associated with gnosticism, hermeticism, and alchemy. representing the dualistic nature of all things, it illustrates the idea that opposites are not in conflict with each other, but contribute together to the development of spiritual harmony.
leon battista alberti was one of the renaissance’s most sophisticated intellectuals. in ouroboro poietico, gabriele morolli called his rucellai sepulcher “an object that can generate spiritual creativity. in the sepulcher we see a perfect conceptual mechanism that embodies both material pursuits––linked to the archaeological/antiquarian culture of the renaissance’s great artists––and spiritual pursuits that can be traced back to fifteenth-century florentine neoplatonic culture with its esoteric inflection.” if one were to look for a contemporary artist whose works share these traits, one would certainly have to consider james lee byars (detroit, 1932 – cairo, 1997), an artist who successfully escaped classification, wishing to remain free to reunite the opposites within himself­­––yin and yang, black and white, day and night­­––by turning them into complementary parts of a single thought.

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their refusal to be categorized as well the spiritual and intellectual dimension of their work explains why alberti and byars, albeit in different eras and contexts, held original and independent positions, eluding all traditional frames of reference and choosing as the main goal of their pursuit to elevate the intellect into a means to achieve transcendence. despite the centuries separating them, their interest in astrology, astronomy, mathematics, and intellectual syncretism brought them in contact with other, faraway cultures. for both, the flow of the cosmos shaped forms and concepts; their objects and decorations can therefore be read as talismans of authentic power capable of capturing divine and astral influences and reconnecting them to the works of man through architecture, sculpture, or literature of great evocative power.

alberti’s idea shows us how plato’s iconoclasm leaves room for the enhancement of the image, as a reflection of divine beauty, and in the way that the renaissance filled the gap between reality and invention with the rules of composition and perspective.
it is in the wake of this that the platon head, a work modelled by byars, finds its place, a work with the volume of a perfect sphere. the white marble sculpture belongs to the body of work dedicated to the american artist’s primal passion for philosophical questions. between the renaissance and classicism in alberti, and minimalism in byars, manifested in this encounterdialogue is the individuality of the artist who instills his own creation with the idea of creating order and meaning. a neoplatonic element connects the work of both artists across the centuries: a poetic centered on light, whether cast directly by the sun or reflected by the moon, by precious, purest white marble (from greece in the case of byers, from carrara in that of alberti), and by precious metals.
this approach results in both cases in basic, geometrically perfect forms conveying the transcendence of thought rather than doctrines­­––whether those of medieval scholastic thought (alberti) or the dogmatism of american minimalism (byars)––, as witness the rucellai chapel at the museo marino marini in florence, where alberti’s sepulchre is put in dialogue with the extreme material purity of byars’s sculpture.

both artists were primarily interested in representation and the phenomenological potential and supernatural quality of art. alberti’s treatise de statua marked a breakthrough in the history art in that it elevated sculpture to an intellectual dimension. alberti also pointed out that man-made works of art derive from forms found in nature, which in turn allows man, through the empirical study of the law of the half-measure, to achieve mathematical, divine and universal harmony within himself as the ultimate goal of his ethical and intellectual training. similarly, byars progressed empirically from the practice of performance as an act of the body’s natural pantheism to the creation of sculptures that condensed the quest (past) and the spiritual and intellectual dimension (present).

the ruccellai chapel and the temple of the holy sepulcher by leon battista alberti
though little considered in florence, leon battista alberti’s sepulcher, built in 1467 as a scale copy of holy sepulchre in the anastasis in jerusalem, is well known to art historians worldwide. the chapel was formerly part of the church of san pancrazio, owned by the curia of florence. in 1808 it was separated from the church, which was deconsecrated and turned into a seat of france’s imperial lottery by napoleonic edict. consequently, the door linking the two parts of the building was walled up and the chapel, which continued to be used for worship, received a new entrance on via della spada.

the chapel has been restored with the support of the marino marini foundation in pistoia. in 2013, the opening of a passageway on the left side, inside the central aisle of the marino marini museum, allowed it to become part of the museum’s spaces. the chapel is now permanently open to the public during museum hours, while maintaining its purpose as a holy place for worship.

june 13, 2014
gio ponti and richard ginori: a unique correspondence
curated by livia frescobaldi malenchini, oliva rucellai and alberto salvadori

14 june – 8 november 2014

"our industries must align with the qualities of those abroad, and represent our local motifs with decoration that uses pure and well-chosen stylistic references, making that quality recognizable, sought after and representative."
gio ponti, 1926

the marino marini museum hosts the exhibition 'gio ponti and richard ginori: a unique correspondence', curated by livia frescobaldi malenchini, oliva rucellai and alberto salvadori. the exhibition, backed by the association friends of doccia in cooperation with the richard ginori doccia factory museum, has been sponsored by the ente cassa di risparmio di firenze foundation with a contribution from richard ginori 1735, the company which was purchased last year by gucci and which plans to reopen its historic shop in via rondinelli, florence, in june.

gio ponti and richard ginori: a unique correspondence presents a select group of about 50 lesser-known pieces taken from the doccia museum’s vast collection of ceramics by gio ponti, and a selection of over 30 letters written by the architect/designer - most of which have never been seen before - from the doccia factory archives, including sketches, drawings and manufacturing instructions. the letters mark a new starting-point for exploring gio ponti's work methods and his relationship with richard ginori, which was characterised by a constant quest for innovative ideas and products. at the same time, they offer an opportunity to reflect on italian creativity, of which ponti was one of the greatest representatives worldwide. the works presented in the exhibition emphasise the close connection between the idea and the product itself, displaying the original design or sketch beside the object actually produced in doccia. many of the ceramics on display were not produced serially; some are unique pieces from the richard ginori museum's prized collection. the exhibition has been intentionally kept small, but includes well-defined, specific sections: from idea to product; special commissions; communication; and the role of exhibitions.

the years following world war i were some of the most glorious for richard ginori, which by then had become one of the main ceramics producers in europe, boasting five factories. its success was mainly due to the young architect gio ponti (1891-1979), who began to work with the company in 1922 and served as its artistic director for a decade from 1923 to 1933. his highly imaginative talent; his passion for the industry, and at the same time, for the most sophisticated craftsmanship; and his skill in guiding the taste of his peers, interpreting expectations with irony, all made him the ideal person to revitalise richard ginori's fine ceramics. his work was met with acclaim from the public and critics both in italy and abroad, and at the 1925 international exposition of decorative arts in paris he was awarded the grand jury prize.
the correspondence between gio ponti, who was working in milan, and the doccia factory includes 230 letters for a total of 426 documents. although incomplete, this correspondence - along with the drawings, catalogues, photographs and other documents preserved in the richard ginori museum archives - has proven to be of incomparable value to the study of ponti's work at doccia and, more generally, to our knowledge of the artist. in addition to providing information that helps to establish the timeline, and in some cases even the attribution, of his ceramics, the signed letters offer an up-close perspective on the milanese architect's oeuvre and on the way he operated within the industrial and manufacturing context of the richard ginori ceramics company.

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when perusing these impassioned letters, what clearly emerges is ponti’s role as a true industrial designer, which can only be compared to the work that peter behrens carried out in germany for aeg, berlin's general electricity company. gio ponti personally looked after every aspect of his ceramics production, from the initial idea, often presented as a sketch, to its development, which was determined by an individual combination of various factors. he created new colours, such as the two shades of ponti blue; he designed packaging and price labels; he came up with brands and identifying symbols for the objects he produced and for the entire factory; he planned pavilions for exhibitions; he discussed the prices at which the objects were to be offered for sale, assessing their marketability.
ponti was amongst the first to take an interest in promotion and communication, overseeing such areas as product presentation in graphics and photos; press relations, partly through the magazine domus which he founded in 1928; and relationships with influential critics - margherita sarfatti, ugo ojetti, roberto papini - as well as the company’s most distinguished clients.
many of these letters were addressed to luigi tazzini, ponti’s "right-hand man" in doccia and artistic director of the tuscan factory. they bear witness to the deep trust between the two men, whose relationship was not merely professional, but one of friendship and respect. tazzini proved to possess the gift of exceptional patience, as he had to deal with such a decisive and touchy personality as that of his milanese colleague. in the letters, we also read about how other artists were involved in many of ponti's projects: the sculptors libero andreotti and italo griselli, the architect giovanni muzio, the decorator elena diana, vittorio faggi and many others.

the ceramics designed by gio ponti for the doccia factory always have two fundamental aspects: tradition and innovation; over the 10 years of his constant, tireless work, this combination made ponti’s contribution an extraordinary and unrepeatable experience, not just because of the marvellous objects that were created, but also - and above all - because it is the first example of artistic objects being produced industrially in italy.
amongst the objects on display bearing witness to the special commissions ponti received, a large majolica vase with blue potiche-style decoration and gilt bronze stands out. the vase, requested by the cassa di risparmio delle province lombarde bank, was part of a remarkable centrepiece commissioned by the italian ministry of foreign affairs for its embassies located throughout the world.
the bonbonnière homage to the snobs, ponti's ironic message for the world of the cultural elite, features two dancing figures in traditional folk costume, combining the artist's creative and innovative imagination with the classical style permeating his other works.

the idea behind the exhibition came on the heels of the last project by the association friends of doccia, which led to the publication of the complete works of gio ponti at the doccia museum, about 560 pieces in all. the volume, which is forthcoming, is the result of the invaluable work that maria teresa giovannini began in 2007, sifting through letters, photo albums and books of samples preserved at the archives of the doccia factory.

coinciding with the exhibition, a competition called letters to ponti will welcome ideas for the development of design concepts inspired by the work of gio ponti, with special reference to the letters written in the years 1923-1930. the competition is open to the students at the university of florence's architecture department, the design campus at calenzano, the libera accademia fine arts academy (laba), the istituto superiore industriale artistiche (isia) design academy and florence's academy of fine arts; it is sponsored by the richard ginori museum and the association friends of doccia. the initiative has been made possible through cooperation with the arts and crafts association associazione osservatorio dei mestieri d'arte, the gio ponti archives and the association for historic, traditional and typical shops in florence.
as part of the initiative, stefano follesa, instructor at the calenzano design campus, has invited his students to express their own personal reinterpretation of ponti's oeuvre - specifically, his object designs, graphics, decoration, displays and small-scale architectural projects - in the form of "letters" in a standard a3 graphic format. in each university, a lecture has been held to present both the initiative and ponti's works themselves, serving as an introduction to the project that each student will work on individually; students also enjoyed a guided tour of the ponti room at the doccia museum.
a jury composed of professors and experts will select the top 20 works, which will be displayed in the shop windows of the city centre whilst the exhibition is running, thanks to cooperation with the association for historic, traditional and typical shops in florence.
these 20 works will compete for the first prize: a scholarship of 2,000 euro as a contribution towards a master's degree programme in italy or abroad; the second prize is a scholarship of 700 euro as a contribution towards a training or specialization course in italy; the third prize is a reissued porcelain by gio ponti, produced by richard ginori; and the remaining winners will receive a copy of the complete catalogue of the works of gio ponti at the doccia museum.
the chosen projects will also be available for viewing online at the organisers' websites.

photo credits dario lasagni