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Rosenfeld Porcini are proud to present MEMORY, an exhibition of nine international
artists working in sculpture today.
MEMORY brings together seven European artists and one each from the UK and America:
Steve Goddard (UK), Andreas Blank (Germany), Leonardo Drew (US), Nicola Samori
(Italy), Roberto Almagno (Italy), Spazio Visivo (Italy), Kaarina Kaikkonen (Finland),
Rossana Zaera (Spain), and Mar Arza (Spain).
From Roberto Almagnoʼs beautifully-crafted abstract forms made from wood, to the
visceral approach of Steve Goddardʼs pieces made of pigment, horsehair and clay, the
exhibition showcases the diversity that exists in contemporary sculpture today. Each artist
takes a radically different approach to their work, using different materials, aesthetic frameworks and concerns. All deal with “memory” in distinct yet equally powerful ways,
and it is the poetic sensibility they share that creates a sense of unity.
Roberto Almagno, sculpts exclusively with wood that he collects in the forests outside his
native city of Rome, and refines into works of great formal perfection that retain a
contemporary lightness. His striking sculpture Memory, gives the exhibition its title. By
contrast American artist Leonardo Drew, who also sculpts principally with wood, is more
concerned with reflections on the human condition than idealist interpretations of nature,
and finds his inspiration within the urban world.
Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen is known for her large scale, visually complex narrative
pieces made from items of discarded and recycled clothing. She will be showing a large
wall piece and a smaller piece created from shirts and a jacket. Poignant and full of
absence, her sculptures recall the people who previously inhabited the clothes. Rossana
Zaera also draws on personal and collective memory. Her wonderfully delicate yet
powerful sculptures – often featuring her leitmotif bed – are made from a variety of
materials, and continually appear to be on the verge of collapse, recalling the difficulties of
childhood and the delicate trapeze act we all as human beings enact between life and
death. For fellow Spaniard Mar Arza, memory is bound up with a philosophical discourse
about time and the impossibility of permanence. She often works with text, paper and
stone, and will be showing two pieces for MEMORY, including a sand piece which
measures the ineluctable passing of time.
Spazio Visivo are two artists from Mantua; the sculptor Paolo Cavinato, and the
composer, Stefano Trevisi. The principal work they will be exhibiting is both a wallmounted
installation and a soundscape, a 4-metre wall piece entitled Icona, which
recounts the disappearing city of old Berlin. Comprising some sixty boxes of various sizes
that are either painted or contain photographic and other images, this visual mosaic is
accompanied by a soundscape made from recorded sounds of the city.
Andreas Blankʼs realistic carved trompe l'oeils seem casual at first sight. Yet on closer
inspection, his arrangements are precisely staged and full of humour. Working with the
technique of a classical carver, the light bulbs, transport boxes and wine bottles are made
from rare stones such as marble, alabaster and sandstone. Nicola Samori is an artist
steeped in the tradition of 17th century Italian painting and sculpture, but with a
determinedly contemporary stance. He creates figurative pieces using traditional
techniques, which he alters so that they become deconstructed representations of
classical sculpture.
Steve Goddard, the only UK artist in the show, is painter as well as sculptor. Goddard
works and experiments with alternative materials such as cloth, plastic, fabric, lace,
horsehair and clay. For this exhibition, he will show a series of heads made from fibre and
pigment, which include characters from the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. Filtered
with his personal approach, Goddard tells us a story of a personal trip bringing back old
memories, lost worlds and cultures.
MEMORY is the second exhibition at this new Fitzrovia gallery, and the first in its series
of occasional themed group shows. The exhibition will extend over both floors of the
extensive gallery space.
For images, interviews and further information contact Anna Vinegrad: pr@annavinegrad.org
T+44 0207 609 8905 M +44 07813 808 487
Gallery address: 37 Rathbone Street, London W1T 1NZ
Telephone No: +44 [0]20 7637 1133
Website: www.rosenfeldporcini.com
Nearest tube: Oxford circus, Tottenham Court Road and Goodge Street
Opening Times: 11am-7pm Tuesday to Saturday
NOTES TO EDITORS:
rosenfeld porcini gallery
Founded in June 2011 by Ian Rosenfeld and Dario Porcini, directors of Italyʼs Galleria
Napoli Nobilissima, the rosenfeld porcini gallery occupies a prime location in the heart of
the dynamic gallery district of Londonʼs Fitzrovia. With 3,000 square feet of gallery space,
rosenfeld porcini has a strong international outlook committed to showing contemporary
artists from around the world, and will draw upon the distinct yet complimentary
backgrounds and expertise of the galleryʼs two directors with an innovative exhibitions
programme. Old Master and Modern shows will occasionally be presented, either
monographic or themed, within the context of the contemporary space, exploring a firm
curatorial belief in the continuity that underlies the story of art.
Ian Rosenfeld is a photographer, film-maker and gallery director. He has had one man
shows at the National Theatre, the Barbican Centre, the Pinacoteca in Bologna, the
Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara and the French Cultural Institute in Florence, amongst
others. Two volumes of his work have been published, Bologna: Time, Space and
Photography (Nuova Alpha) and Ferrara: Echoes of Silence (Alchima Art Publishing). Two
of Rosenfeldʼs films have premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Echoes of Time in 1993
and Doors of Memory in 1998. He joined Italyʼs Galleria Napoli Nobilissima in 2007 with
responsibility for the contemporary art exhibitions programme. Contact: ian@rosenfeldporcini.com
Dario Porcini has been a director of the Galleria Napoli Nobilissima in Naples for over two
decades. Originally founded by his father, the gallery takes its names from the art
publication launched by the philosopher Benedetto Croce at the close of the 19th century.
He obtained his degree in Fine Art from the University of Naples with a thesis on
Neapolitan painting in the first half of the 17th century. Porcini is an expert on Old Master
paintings and sculpture. Contact: dario@rosenfeldporcini.com
Emily Dolan studied as a practicing artist for several years in a variety of institutions and
has been working in a commercial capacity for the past 5 years at the Fine Art Society in
the Contemporary Sales team. She has been an advisor to the Museum of Everything and
last year assisted renowned American artist Leonardo Drew on his travelling American
museum show. She has also participated in many national and international art fairs.
Dolan studied for a BA in Fine Art from Bristol UWE College of Art after a Foundation
course at Falmouth College of Art, with further studies at Florence Academy of Art and The
Art Academy in London. Contact: emily@rosenfeldporcini.com
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