Matteo Negri | SPLENDIDA VILLA CON GIARDINO, VISTE INCANTEVOLI

Artsy, Artsy, May 21, 2016

Six site specific pieces of sculpture for the ground floor and garden of the house in Novate Milanese. Splendid villa with garden, charming views is a solo exhibition by Matteo Negri.

Press Release

Six site specific pieces of sculpture for the ground floor and garden of the house in Novate Milanese. “Splendid villa con garden, charming views” is a solo exhibition by Matteo Negri. A project of great visual impact, it overturns the viewpoint and the means of exploiting the location. The works placed inside the rooms of the house will be visible, in fact, only from outside. The visitor is therefore compelled to be both observer and protagonist. The exhibition, curated by Daniele Capra, is accompanied by a bilingual publication with images of the works located in the house, essays by the curator, a critical commentary by Flaminio Gualdoni and an interview with the artist by Giuseppe Frangi. The event, together with the solo exhibition by Andrea Bianconi, is part of the exhibition entitled Two-Way, the major exhibition of the summer season at Casa Testori.
The title Splendid villa with garden, charming views recalls the jargon of real estate ads. It derives from an analysis of the functionality of the single rooms in a house, each one characterized by its own particular function within the dwelling-place. Negri has opted, instead, to change visually their intended use, transforming each space into an area physically inaccessible to people, but visible from the garden windows. In this way, observers are not simply passive players in a prearranged itinerary. They are expected to go in search of the content proposed, they become strollers who interact with the environmental stimuli placed before them.
The works of Splendid villa with garden, charming views testify to Matteo Negri’s many-faceted skills. They range from installations of an environmental nature, created with special mirrors and theatrical lighting, to sculpture employing composite materials (such as epoxide resins or silicon), as well as the more classic bronze used for the great rotating sculpture occupying the veranda of Casa Testori.
The exhibition has been mounted in collaboration with ABC-ARTE, Genoa.

Matteo Negri (San Donato, 1982) has prevalently concentrated his search for artistic expression on sculpture, though without neglecting two-dimensional works. His art has frequently been shown in public contexts, such as Piazza Gae Aulenti in Milano (Multiplicity, 2015) and in various Parisian Places (L’egosÏme 2010). His works activate the spaces with a sense of playful wonder.

 

Matteo Negri
Splendid villa with garden, charming views
Curated by Daniele Capra
Casa Testori (Largo A. Testori 13)
From 22 May to 24 July
Admission free
Catalogue: with essays by Flaminio Gualdoni, Giuseppe Frangi and the curator
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