Ivàn Navarro
curated by Antonio Arevalo
and
Los Carpinteros
curated by Raffaella Guidobono
In collaboration with Italo-Latin American Institute of Roma (IILA) – and with Eurofly
Iván Navarro (Santiago del Cile 1972) belongs to the generation of artists which re-examined the relationship between the modern and the contemporary in the 1990s, using the experiences of the purest avante-guarde of modern art as a departure point: from abstract geometrics to constructivism and concrete art, finally arriving at minimalism, optic art and their most contemporary derivations. Navarro plays with ready reference to transforming modern formalism, and such is his magicians touch that simple materials take radiant forms, abstracted from conventions. In this way he parodies painting. He creates complex, luminous sculptures, developing the concept of the energy conversion, building specific objects and installations out of everyday materials, creating situations which reveal real processes of transformation. Electric energy is used in his works in diverse forms. If in some parts he uses the energy necessary to power countless industrial and domestic machines, in others (linked to their use in contemporary society) he reminds us of the idea of power which they epitomize, like, for example the notorious electric chair which is still used as death weapon in several places in the United States.
Iván Navarro lives and works in New York.
On the occasion of their first show in Italy, Los Carpinteros, the Cuban duo formed by Marco Castello (b. 1971) and Dagoberto Rodriguez (b. 1969) can boast of having exhibited in two Bienniales in Havana the second of which has only just finished, and having participated in the Venice Biennale of 2005 with the Istituto Latino Americano. On the 22nd June, Palazzo Santacroce will open its doors and recreate the space granted to the two artists who will be presenting a series of large watercolours in the gallery Unosunove and an installation of the sculpture Grenado de Mano in the gallery of the Institute. Los Carpinteros achieved formal recognition in the 7th Biennale in Havana when they presented an installation of nylon drapes and construction tubes. This then moved to P.S.1 before arriving at the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu and eventually to San Francisco. It was their “Transportable City” (Ciudad Transportable) which made their work well known and is considered a global phenomenon which transcends place or nation. This ability to transcend a common sense of place is the signature touch which always accompanies their work and declares the need to express latent meanings so to bring about an alteration in the perception of things. Los Carpinteros show a reality which adheres as closely as possible to an unpublished logic and present us with punning and illusory images. They investigate the discordancy of the elements and the ambiguity which is embedded within the nature of objects, stressing the absurd side of things so as to find the most plausibile explanation, but with a steady exacting gaze at reality. The artists comment upon our paraphrased world, the architecture and tools which surround our present, transforming multitudinous objects, they elevate the visionary instinct and transform the viewers through declarations of intent. The installation Grenada De Mano is a huge relection on the war on the part of the two South Americans, which over time has built up a reputation for its shifting conceptuality, to give life to works containing mixed paradoxes and metaphors of reality. The displayed paintings, created for 1/9unosunove, are full of references to installations whilst at the same time they represent self-contained works, inscribed with marks of their own handiwork to achieve communion with an idea which is otherwise unrealisable.
For any further information please contact:
gallery@unosunove.com