LIGHT WORKS€¦ · HEXAGONES Hexagones is a light installation conceptually inspired by the theme...
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NICOLA EVANGELISTI LIGHT WORKS
Transcript of LIGHT WORKS€¦ · HEXAGONES Hexagones is a light installation conceptually inspired by the theme...
NICOLA EVANGELISTI
LIGHT WORKS
IN FLORE LUCIS
My project for the MOAH exhibition is called “In flore lucis”, literally in the flower of light, meaning “in the middle of the light”.The project consists of three installations: Hexagones, Holy Lance and Holy Knife.In all three works the light is the central element.Recently I explored the relationship between light and symbols with a particular focus on the meaning of light in sacred themes.Hexagones is a light installation inspired by sacred geometry, created in 2016 for a group show at the Ducal Palace in Mantua, near Milan.The metal structure is similar to a snowflake crystal. However it may also recall the upper part of the Kabbalah tree of life. Its mea-ning is cosmological. The luminous part is made of electroluminescent wires which represent a diamond. It symbolizes eternity and indivisibility. Social and political themes related to terrorism are the center of Holy Lance and Holy Knife, where I have analyzed the emotional sta-tes induced by violence and terror attacks propaganda.Holy Knife is an installation (triptych) where I have used the actual handles of three knives and the holographic reproduction of their original blades.In my work there is also a recurring theme: the investigation of the boundaries between tangible and intangible.The holographic blade symbolizes the psychological violence of terrorist propaganda. Holy Lance is a large crosshairs made of middle ages-style swords, some double-edged. The swords form a Greek cross to symbolize the paradox of war in the name of God. Mirroring it in white weapons symbolizes the reflection of our own responsibility for the never-ending wars happening in the world. The sword is a symbol for lightning and of its dual power: creation and destruction, life and death. Without evil, good would be a state of normality; only in the relationship between opposites can one understand reality.
Lecture at MOAH, museum of art and history, Lancaster
HEXAGONES Hexagones is a light installation conceptually inspired by the theme of sacred geometry.The structure is made from thirteen reflecting chrome aluminum hexagons which form another hexagonal image; this refers to the principle of the self-simi-larity of universal structures as a foundational basis to the development of life. To emphasize the close link between micro and macrocosms, the luminous element becomes a visual metaphor of the principle of all things.The luminous lines of electroluminescent wire crossing the hexagons create a complex weaving where the five Platonic solids can be simultaneously percei-ved.The “constellation” (Kepler’s theory of polyhedra refers to extending polyhedral faces until they meet again) is obtained by intertwining luminescent fibers which create the illusion of a diamond structure where different coexisting regular polygons can be distinguished.The total vision of the reflective metal part of the installation superimposes onto the archetypal image of the flower of life, the symbol of birth and creation found throughout history in many different cultures and beliefs.Since the totality of the structure (the geometric pattern of the reflective hexagons) is formed by individual parts of the same shape (reflective hexagons), a fractal pattern is produced which ideally could continue to increase in scale ad infinitum, creating a continuity between the micro and the macrocosm.
Nicola Evangelisti 2016Chromed Aluminum, electroluminescent wire 300 ( h ) x 216 (L ) x 118 ( D )
The structure consists of thirteen aluminum chrome hexagons connected by metal sections. The work is to be hung on a wall.The combined installation lighting system is a very low output power of 16w. This system consists of a transformer (regulation) and a branch of low voltage electroluminescent bars which are wired and isolated underneath.The light output is therefore optimized with respect to the absorption power.
HEXAGONES - VIDEO STILL
Strings Flux -light sculpture
LIGHT BLADE
(…) Light Blade is cut, gash, tear, blade of light, that parts and separates – in a slash of space – multi thousands conceptions and ultra-dimensional con-nections: it is bridge fusion, synthesis, free concord of dynamical mental associations, performed within the time, for the time and trough a frozen time, out-side and above the concrete human experience, where past and present are nothing more than accidents of a sole crystallized instant. (…)
LIGHT BLADE is not intended to be an embellishement, a decoration, but a piece of art to stress the physical and emotional experience of lightness, with the intent to drive the spectator into a thoughtful and spiritual dimension.Nicola Evangelisti conceived LIGHT BLADE as “installation art on the open space” therfore “site-specific” too, thinked up and planned to live with the architectu-re of the Villa Reale of Milan. It will be an example of public art, an artistic proposal that goes out from art galleries or museums to live in an historical and urban setting, looking for a more direct exchange of ideas with the mainly unaware public.We are facing a dual-purpose artwork changing its physiognomy from daytime to night. During the day the mirroring material reflects the spectator and the sorrounding space, while at night the internal lights give the feeling of electric shock, almost a Jupiter thunderbolt.In all conditions the light, reflected or produced by the neon tubes, dematerializes the artwork as in the best examples of contemporary art by Lucio Fontana and Dan Flavn.We see a blade that cuts across the architecture and allows new reading by means of the light and of the colour of the portico, making possible a new livea-bility of this space, inspiring the active involvement of the spectator.
BRITISH DESIGN EMBASSY WITH LIGHT INSTALLATIONBY NICOLA EVANGELISTI AT VILLA REALE
The light installation Light Blade created by Nicola Evangelisti on the occasion of Euroluce and Salone del Mobile is hosted in the courtyard of Villa Reale and marks the entrance to the British Design Embassy.The British Design Embassy is conceived as a networking hub for the international design community; this exclusive lounge is decorated by Sir Paul Smith in collaboration with Moroso.The contrast between this contemporary interior decoration and the classic environment of Villa Reale creates a charming setting where visitors can talk about design and develop collaborative synergies.Placed on the threshold of the British Design Embassy the Light Blade sculpture acquires the symbolic connotation of a bridge between the cultures and styles by breaking through the set standards. It is a strong and unique interpretation of that “lateral thinking” so peculiar to British design.
Marina Iremonger 2009Head of Fashion & Design UnitBritish Consulate General Milan
Light BLade, 2009 - Light Installation - GAM Milano
Genus Lucis, Basilica of St. Luke, Bologna, Italy (Multimedia Project)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGSM9CuTcE
Speculum Solis, Church of St. Procolus, Bologna, Italy (Multimedia Project)
Light Pulse, interactive laser installation
Curved Spacetime, light sculpture, 130x90x50 cm
ICE ENERGY 2009 Light sculpture in glass, LED, aluminum, 140x70x15cm
Ice, 2015Spatial Structure in glass, steel, LED100x100x10 cm
Strings Flux 2012Light SculptureSteel, glass, LED300 x 140 x 140 cm
LAMINA LUCENS
Lamina Lucens is intended as an idealization of a fragment of a ma-terial which, as it encounters/clashes with the Earth’s surface, cre-ates a link between the heavenly dimensions and the Chthonic dep-ths. Nature is reflected through the mirror-matter and is altered by the signs of light, instantaneously bringing together the physical and mental space: “Narcissus’ mirror” becomes “Alice’s mirror”, creating a bridge between reality and imagination. Lightning and rivers, light that dies in the water; from the water it is reborn and from the water it constantly, irreparably recreates, poetically, but inconveniently shaping life forms and regenerating origins. Different elements that consider themselves primordial and inte-ract, forming a single single vital element, a sort of “liquid light” capable of transforming andreversing normal aesthetic and intellectual perceptions in pulsating modulation: physical and visual propagations of all things depart from matter to ideally and functionally turn into ideas. Water and light overlap and blend into the same space, devoid of both temporal and material connotations: a deep scienti-fic vision.
Spirale aurea Z8, 2016 Light sculpture Glass, LED, Aluminum 60x60x7 cm
Spirale Aurea, 2016Glass, LED, aluminum60x60x8 cm
Spirale aurea Z8, 2016 Light sculpture Glass, LED rgb, Aluminum 60x60x7 cm
Gaza, phosphorescent paint on paper. 6 panels 50x70 cm
The signs are wounds of light on the dying, black ground, they are the poisonous flashes of wars never extinguished, of the continuous echoes of abuse, despair and endless human vulgarities. Nicola Evangelisti weaves a complicated web of “another” landscape with electric austerity, a landscape that has been spared and has re-emerged from a pitch black abyss that wants everything and tries to capture everything as well.
“Quid noctis?” - seems to be the question posed by the artist - “Where does night begin?” - how long will the silent blindness continue to perpe-trate the darkness in the dark, the pain gouged into the pain; how many generations of monsters still sleep in the darkness submerged in stars that explode with every sob of the sky?
Perhaps, there are other hiding places where light has built its joyous home, for us, motionless and unconscious - the space is a storm of de-nials.
BIOGRAPHY
Born on March 11th 1972 in Bologna, Italy, Nicola Evangelisti graduated in sculpture at the Bologna Fine Arts Academy in 2000. Sculpture is where his research originates and evolves from. He started with traditional materials and techniques then followed a transcendent path. Using crystals, mirrors, glass, holograms and LEDs his works gradually de-materialized in time until becoming a form of pure light: a video-projection that interacts with urban spaces. Most of his work explores the relationship between order and chaos, and also between other cosmological theories: the light instal-lation cycles Spatial Structures and Cosmic Hypothesis are constructed out of mathematical principles. The first ones are made of LED lights, plastic materials, crystals and mirrors processed by means of carving techniques of his own devising.His signature Lightning works epitomize the complexity and polarity of nature, and it is one of the many expressions of fractal geome-try, such as leaf veins, butterfly wings, animal venous systems, trickling water ... Recently he explored the relationship between light and symbols with particular focus on the meaning of light in sacred themes. This research led to a series of video-projections in sacred spaces, in cooperation with a contemporary music composer interestingly also named Nicola Evangelisti.Social and political themes relating to war and terrorism were the center of his solo exhibition beWARe, where he analyzed the emo-tional states induced by violence and mass media propaganda. The solo show Temporary Illusions dealt with the impact of the econo-mic crisis in a society centered on money, which the artist sees as a weapon, through bullet installations and holographic sculptures.
SOLO SHOWS (SELECTED)
2016beWARe, Area35 Art Gallery, Milan, Italy
2015The Theory of the Opposites, Paci contemporary, Brescia, Italy 2014Genus Lucis, Basilica of St. Luke, Bologna, Italy (Multimedia Project)Speculum Solis, Church of St. Procolus, Bologna, Italy (Multimedia Project) 2013Lux Inaccessibilis, Cloister of St. Dominic, Bologna, Italy (Multimedia Project) 2012Temporary Illusions, OltreDimore Art Gallery, Bologna, ItalyA.L.I.C.E.’s Eye, with Elastic Group of Artistic Research, Bevilacqua Palace, Bologna, Italy 2011Venice Biennale, Italian Pavillion in the World, Italian Cultural Institute, Brussels, BelgiumThe Seventh Day of Contemporary, The Doge’s Palace, Genoa, ItalyYou Are Not Safe - Light Pulse, International Museum and Library of Music, Bologna, Italy 2010Here and now, Civic Medieval Museum, Bologna, Italy
2008Chromocosmica, Artiscope Art Gallery, Brussells, Belgium 2007Elettrika, Paci contemporary, Brescia, Italy 2006Light Installations, Espace d’Art Contemporain Villary, Nimes, France 2004Light Chimaeras, Serego Art Gallery, Verona, Italy 2002Luminis Ora, BGH Art Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA 2000New Spatialism, Centre Culturel Louis Ratel, Bievres, FranceEphemerides, No Code Art Gallery, Bologna, Italy 1997Cosmic Fragments, Schabes Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA
AWARDS Guglielmo Marconi Prize, 2000, Bologna, Italy Targetti Light Art Award, 2002 Florence, Italy Aletti Art Award, Verona, 2009, Italy
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2017Estate Italiana, MOAH, Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CABlack light art, the light that shines the darkness, Exhibition Space of Palazzo Lombardia, Milan, ItalyFrom Flower to Flower (DiFioreInFiore), DIF Museum, Palazzo Chigi, Formello (Rome), Italy 2016Art Stays Festival, Ptuj, SloveniaDigital Frames, Uncommon, Milan, ItalyDigital Humanities, Beta 80 Group, Milan, Italy 2015Paratissima, Turin, ItalySmall Size, Paci contemporary, Brescia, Italy 2014Light Art Ensemble, Brera Academy, Milan, ItalyLux Aurea, Museum Collection of Pope Paul VI, Concesio (Brescia), ItalyExtra-ordinary Day – MAAM Museum, Rome, ItalyHome Theatre, MAAM Museum, Rome, ItalyMeta-Illusions, ART1307, Villa di Donato, Naples, Italy 2012High Voltage, De Mijlpaal Art Gallery, Manifesta9, Brussels, BelgiumFutures, Artiscope Art Gallery, Brussels, BelgiumI have a Dream, Paci contemporary, Brescia, ItalyTurnover, Paci contemporary, Brescia, ItalyRelativity, Relative and Relations – PaRDeS Lab, Mirano (Italy)
2011Luces, Archäologisches Museum, Frankfurt, GermanyADD Festival, MACRO Testaccio Museum, Rome, ItalyArteractive, Turin, Italy 2009Future, The Science Festival, The Doge’s Palace, Genoa, Italy 2008From Narcissus to Alice, mirrors and reflections concerned, ISELP (Institute Supérieur pour l’Etude du Langage Plastique), Brussells, BelgiumBlack and White, Paci contemporary, Brescia, Italy 2007River’s Edge Film Festival, Maiden Alley Cinema, Market House Theatre and Yeiser Art Centre Paducah, Kentucky, USAEvents’ Horizon, Artsinergy Gallery, Bologna, Italy 2006Harlem Art Project, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, USALights On, Artiscope Art Gallery, Brussels, BelgiumTargetti Light Art Collection, MUAR (National Museum of Architecture Schusev), Moscow, RussiaVideoFormes, Clermont-Ferrand (France)Journey into Contemporary Photography, Paci contemporary, Brescia, ItalyDead Line, Villa Vogel, Florence, ItalyVideo Island, Rome, Italy 2005Video Festival, Parisud Art Gallery, Paris, FranceDIVA Brussells, One Night Video, Brussells, BelgiumLucio Fontana and its heredity, Castelbasso (Teramo), Italy
2008Mehr Licht. Targetti Light Art Collection & James Turrel, MAK Museum, Vienna, Austria 2003Targetti Light Art Collection, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA 2002Targetti Light Art Collection, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PolandQuotidiana, Civic Museum “Al Santo”, Padua, Italy 2001Myth and Material. Sculpture, Other and Beyond (with Joe Tilson), Castelbasso (Teramo), Italy 2000Small Format, Bertrand Kass Art Gallery, Innsbruck, AustriaNo Code Art Gallery, Bologna, Italy
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Cittadellarte Pistoletto Foundation, “Insieme” MAAM project, Biella (Italy)Museum Collection of Pope Paul VI, Concesio (Brescia), ItalyMAAM Museum, Rome, ItalyGAM (Modern Art Gallery), Milan (Italy)La Sfacciata Lighting Academy, Florance (Italy)DIF Museum, Palazzo Chigi, Formello (Rome), ItalyMuseum Bargellini, Cento – Ferrara (Italy)Museum Roberto Bilotti Ruggi d’Aragona, Rende, ItalyPinto / Xandev Foundation , London and Goa (GB and India)
