Open: Wed-Sat 11am-1pm, 3pm-7pm

Via Davide Bertolotti 2, 10121, Turin, Italy
Open: Wed-Sat 11am-1pm, 3pm-7pm

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Artist: Giovanni Anselmo

Giovanni Anselmo, who has been exhibiting at the Galleria Tucci Russo since 1978, in this show – his first in the premises in Via Bertolotti 2 in Turin – brings together a series of works created at various times and linked to different themes in his work. His thinking has since the mid-1960s shown great coherence of language and concepts; it highlights those fundamental principles that accompany our existence and which place us in relation to all that is visible and invisible, that is particular, that underlines the principle of balance (Senza Titolo, 1965), of energy/tension that a material, in a constricted and unnatural position, develops towards the viewer who, in turn, as in theatre directions, is oriented towards the cardinal points in space.

Minimalism and conceptuality coexist with a poetic dimension of the universe.

“The traditional object is reduced to a minimum and only exists in function of tension, of energy. The work is energy and is a function of my living. My objects are physical energy; the forces are channelled and directed to a point so that, from time to time, a situation of unstable equilibrium, of potential movement, of tension, of compression results, to which the structures and visual elements of my objects are subordinate.” Giovanni Anselmo

ROOM 1

VERDE CHIARO PERMANENTE AL CENTRO E INTORNO UN DISEGNO, DUE PARTICOLARI, I COLORI DELLE FOGLIE AL VENTO (PERMANENT LIGHT GREEN IN THE CENTRE AND AROUND A DRAWING, TWO DETAILS, THE COLOURS OF LEAVES IN THE WIND), 1980

OLTREMARE MENTRE APPARE ALL’ORIZZONTE (OLTREMARE AS IT APPEARS ON THE HORIZON), 1979/2022

“I used this colour as a material, as a strip of land, as a compass, rather than as a colour in the strict sense of the word. In ancient times the colour ultramarine was brought to Europe from afar, from beyond the sea... and it is for this reason that it acquired its name. It is a spatial indication of an elsewhere that lies around us in all directions. On Earth, in fact, whichever direction you choose to go, sooner or later there will always be an overseas. For me, placing this colour on a wall means choosing and indicating that direction, towards the ultramarine on the wall and towards the ultramarine in outer space.” Giovanni Anselmo

SENZA TITOLO (Specchio) (Untitled (Mirror)), 1968

“When I used a mirror in “Senza Titolo” (Untitled) in 1968, by leaning it against the wall and protecting the points of contact with cotton, I turned the back of the mirror towards the viewer and not the mirroring part. This work is “against” the virtual two-dimensional image and the mirror – a 3 mm thick reflecting plate – bends due to its weight and presents a real three-dimensional image instead of a virtual two-dimensional reflected image.” Giovanni Anselmo

ROOM 2

DIREZIONE (EST) (DIRECTION (EAST)), 1978

DIREZIONE (NORD) (DIRECTION (NORTH)), 1978

DIREZIONE (DIRECTION), 1967-2012

“The magnetic needle always indicates the direction determined by the earth’s magnetic field. From the very beginning I have used it to create a work that has a sufficient energy charge to place itself beyond its visible limits, so as to go beyond the closed space of the building, the gallery in which the work is presented. The orientation of the work in line with the magnetic field allows me to relate it to outer space, to what is outside, in the cosmos. ” Giovanni Anselmo

ROOM 3

INVISIBILE (INVISIBLE), 1971

“In 1971 I made a work with a projector, entitled “Invisibile,” because I wanted to make an invisible work: the device projects a slide with the word “visible,” but the focus of the word is in space about a meter from the lens. If I want to check the invisible, this is only possible through the visible. If I want to materialise the invisible it becomes immediately visible. The invisible is the visible that cannot be seen.” Giovanni Anselmo

SENZA TITOLO (TONDINO) (UNTITLED (REBAR)), 1965

“The iron is bent in such a way that it rests on the ground and supports itself vertically by balancing its weight. In this way the structure is able, at the slightest displacement of the surrounding air, to signal the energy it contains through its movement. What interested me was, on the one hand, the force of gravity and, on the other hand, the pure verticality of the rod. At the same time I made works in which I inserted iron rods vertically on wooden bases, pushing them upwards as far as possible, until I found an unstable and very precarious balance between the law of gravity and the cohesive force of the iron. Sometimes I apply an inverted polystyrene drop shape to the top of the rod and paint it all in one colour.” Giovanni Anselmo

SENZA TITOLO (UNTITLED), 1967

“In this work physical energy is represented with very simple means. The longitudinal edges of a sheet of Plexiglas are brought together and held in place by a U-shaped piece of metal. The U-shaped metal hooks the edges and hangs on them without the need for joints, because the tension of the Plexiglas supports the metal itself. The transparency of the material visualises the energy situation that keeps the work in place.” J. C. Ammann

INFINITO (INFINITE), 1970

“I focused the camera lens on infinity and I pointed it towards the sky, because the sky poses no obstacles, the sky is an “open” space...” Giovanni Anselmo