Untitled
Maria Savoldi
2016
360 cm x 360 cm x 23 cm
Wire, cement, wood, polystyrene
For the exhibition “Simmetria di Riflessione” (Symmetry of Reflection) in June 2016 at Meccaniche Ceruti in Brescia, Maria Savoldi created a site-specific work. It is a wall, made out of cement, polystyrene, wood and wire.
The title of the exhibition “Symmetry of Reflection” might be a hint how to perceive the installation, regarding mathematics and the reflection in a two-dimensional plane. However, the wall is not a simple reflection through a line, which would be a symmetrical image of a real wall. A “real” wall ought to follow the rules of gravity. Evidently, this is not the case in Maria’s site-specific work.
In fact, the installation seems to reverse the gravity force: there is a relatively thin wire construction, placed directly on the floor and an apparent massive concrete wall with the same width and depth sits enthroned on this fragile structure to reach the ceiling. The wire is perhaps a little bit bent out to the sides. Apart from that, the forces that should affect the construction are not visible. Moreover, the concrete wall is obliquely constructed, but the wire is not carrying more weight on the heavier side.
A surprise is waiting for the visitor when he/she turns around to watch the backside of the wall: due to an oval opening in the cement surface, the observer can recognise the real nature of the pretended massive concrete wall. A wood construction is visible, which is clad by polystyrene panels, plastered with cement.
At the same time, regarding the forces directed to the wire, this hole could be an explanation for the slope: the wall should be heavier where it seems to be massive and lighter where the opening is.
To come back to the exhibitions title: if the installation should be a reflection of a construction, which respects the rules of gravity, it could only be a reflection through a single point. In this case, the image would be turned in an angle of 180°.
Altogether Maria is playing with the visual and material sense of the observer, seems to defy the laws of gravity, but explains how this is possible and all this without any words. So, it is left to the spectator to experience this three-dimensional installation.
Maria Savoldi
Born 1988 in Iseo, Italy, Maria studied sculpture under Davide Rivalta and graphics under Serafini Cataldo at the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in Bologna, Italy. Additionally, she participated at many workshops in drawing, engraving and other techniques around paperwork in Bologna, Barcelona and Bilbao, Spain. Her works are honoured by many prices and grants.
Since 2010, Maria participated in numerous group exhibitions notably in Italy, but as well in Spain, Germany and the United States. These presentations are complemented by personal and double personal shows in Bologna, Pordenone, Orbetello and Brescia, where our artwork of the month of September 2016 was installed.
Even though her initial artistic education was in sculpture, Maria set a focus on graphical arts in the following studies. In her often-expansive sculptures, the line – which was previously fixed on paper – steps out from the two dimensionality into the space in form of wire. The result are enormous sculptures, consisting of many meters, if not kilometres of wire, like in “4 Chilometri per arrivare alle 7” (4 kilometres to arrive at 7) a site-specific installation at Adiacenze, Bologna in 2014. Besides wire and other filaments, her works frequently include cement and other materials, which are set in contrast to the coldness of the metal.
Maria lives and works in Bologna.