Bertozzi & Casoni Human Capital. From Desolation to Consolation

On 16 September, #galleriaantonioverolino, situated a stone’s throw from the Palazzo Ducale in #modena, will be inaugurating an exhibition of the work of Bertozzi & Casoni, entitled “Human Capital. From Desolation to Consolation”.

Curated by Franco Bertoni, an architect, art critic and expert in 20th Century ceramics, the exhibition is part of the programme of the festivalfilosofia taking place in #modena from 16 to 18 September 2016. The theme of the exhibition is “competitive spirit” and its centrepiece is a sculptural installation entitled “Polar Bear, 2016”. This takes the form of a gigantic ceramic polar bear, which the artists, Giampaolo Bertozzi and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni, have depicted imprisoned in a cage and at risk of extinction due to geological and climate change caused by invasive human activity.
Around this symbol of evolutionary struggle, other works portray subjects such as bins overflowing with rubbish and snails, piles of dirty dishes, and pipework interspersed with everyday objects and captions. These illustrate the exchange between composition and decomposition and death and regeneration that pervades the existence of individuals and societies, like a pendulum perpetually swinging between desolation and consolation. They represent the detritus that each of us leaves behind and the small-scale local extinctions that agitate the material world even in this age of abundance.

One especially significant exhibit in relation to the gallery’s mission and identity is a textile work based on a drawing by Giampaolo Bertozzi and hand-made by craftspeople commissioned by Antonio Verolino, who has inherited a passion for fine carpets and tapestries from his father Raffaele Verolino, the undisputed authority on this discipline in Italy and beyond. The expertise acquired over the years by Antonio Verolino has prompted him to forge working partnerships with established artists of the calibre of Enzo Cucchi, David Tremlett, Luigi Ontani and Joe Tilson, who have succeeded in expressing their artistic vision through this ancient decorative medium, to create textiles that amount to fully fledged works of art.
The new textile work by Bertozzi & Casoni depicts a honeycomb, which in turn traces the form of a skull. Made of entirely hand-knotted silk, it has a uniquely living appearance because it changes colour with the changing light. The work is set in a ceramic frame, also in the form of a honeycomb, with over a thousand ceramic flowers sprouting from it.

Sponsored by the Municipality of #modena, the exhibition is being held in conjunction with the festivalfilosofia and with the support of Ciaccio #arte Insurance Service.

Masters of ceramic art, Bertozzi & Casoni have aroused the interest of critics and major national and international art galleries since the 1990s. In 2004, they were invited to exhibit works at Tate Liverpool and the 14th Quadriennale in Rome. They then staged personal exhibitions at Cà Pesaro (the International Gallery of Modern Art) in Venice in 2007, and Castello Sforzesco in Milan and the International Ceramic Museum in Faenza in 2008. Their works went on display in the Italy pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2009, and at All Visual Arts in London, the Sperone Westwater Gallery in New York and the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation in Milan in 2010. In 2011, they put on exhibitions at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Ajaccio and the Italy pavilion of the Venice Biennale. In 2013, personal exhibitions of their work were held at the Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague, the Beck & Eggeling Gallery in Düsseldorf and Palazzo Te in Mantua.

An architect by training, Franco Bertoni has combined his original profession with historical research and criticism, focusing primarily on Italian and European 20th Century art and ceramics, Minimalism and modern architecture. From 2003 to 2010 he was Curator of the Modern and Contemporary Collections at the International Ceramic Museum in Faenza.


Bertozzi & Casoni
Human Capital. From Desolation to Consolation

Galleria Antonio Verolino
16 September – 24 October 2016

Galleria Antonio Verolino
Via Farini 70 Angolo Piazza Roma - 41121 Modena
Tel. +39 059 23 78 45
Fax +39 059 22 26 18
www.galleriaantonioverolino.com
info@galleriaantonioverolino.com

Normal opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9.00 am to 7.30 pm

Extended opening hours during the festivalfilosofia:
Friday 16 September: 9.00 am to 11.00 pm
Inauguration in the company of the artists at 6.00 pm (invitation only)
Saturday 17 September: 9.00 am to 12.00 midnight
Sunday 18 September: 9.00 am to 9.00 pm