Zodiaco, 2015, exhibition view at CAR DRDE, courtesy the Artists and CAR DRDE, Bologna
ZODIACO
CURATED BY DAVIDE BERTOCCHI
JUL 1 – JUL 30, 2016
Opening: Friday 1 July, 18 – 21h
Davide Bertocchi (Aries), G. Küng (Taurus), Camille Henrot (Gemini), Elise Cam (Gemini), Thorsten Brinkmann (Cancer), Florian & Michael Quistrebert (Leo), Emilie Pitoiset (Virgo), Benoit Maire (Libra), Charlotte Moth (Scorpio), Evariste Richer (Ophiuchus), Joris Van De Moortel (Sagittarius), Alessandro Di Pietro (Capricorn), Shila Khatami (Aquarius), Elia Cantori (Pisces), Olve Sande (Pisces)
You could think about the zodiac as a very ancient way of measuring the passage of time. A time that is immeasurable, paradoxically in suspense and infinite as in the 1970 work by Gino De Dominicis “Lo Zodiaco”. Or think about the cosmic and astronomical sense of zodiac - elusive and metaphysical. The symbolic dimension, the evocative power of astrological imagery adds another layer of complexity.
The key to this exhibition may lie in thinking all of these various registers together: the zodiac as a unified and preexisting structure. Rather than acting as a traditional curator, I inserted the works into this structure. I made use of the zodiac as a system in my choice of the works. That is, I allowed the limitations of the system to guide me in making aesthetic and logistical choices within what is an overwhelmingly vast artistic cosmos.
For Zodiaco, artists were chosen based on their astrological signs. Others were excluded for the same reason. As a group they make up a totality - a circle - of the thirteen major signs.
De Dominicis was an important orientation for all participants. Still, the exhibit does not intend to produce explicit iconographical or symbolic references. Each artist was free to work with absolute autonomy and spontaneity. In fact, a good number of the works shown here were made previously. I was primarily interested in the way the works interact with each other in the context of this exhibition - their “astrological” influences on each other and on the public as well.
Maybe it’s just another in a long series of encounters between artists and the aleatory where all bets are off and anything is fair game including magical practices, ancient rituals and superstitions.
text Davide Bertocchi
translated into English by Karen Pinkus
Davide Bertocchi (b. 1969 Italy) lives and works in Paris. His artistic research starts with the relationship between science and music, which the artist intentionally manipulates, creating new approaches and unusual configurations. His work includes videos, sculptures and installations and has been exhibited in numerous museums, foundations, galleries and international institutions, including La Maison Rouge, Paris; Bozar, Brussels, De Appel, Amsterdam, Fondation d'entreprise Ricard, Paris, the Lyon Biennale, Palazzo Esposizioni, Rome, Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris; Palais de Tokyo, Paris, the Prague Biennale, La Monnaie de Paris, the Bronx Museum and MoCA Shanghai.
