The bond that unites art and Morcote, a village which boasts a rich historical and cultural heritage brimming with testimonies from Late Gothic and Renaissance periods, expands towards the contemporary with a new public art exhibition presenting works, most having been created, by artists of different generations and places of origin.

Entitled “Lo spazio ritrovato”, the scope of this new appointment is to reveal how contemporary art can intervene within public spaces, changing the way they are perceived and inviting visitors, through this experience, to reflect and revalue the space surrounding us. The peculiarity of public art is the capacity to inspire fulfilment, enabling access to social and urban tissue through interaction, experiencing in first person, the rediscovered space.

DANIELE AGOSTINI
Curatore / Curator

Morcote’s traditional artistic and cultural vocation is well-known. Morcote has in fact given birth to numerous artists and architects commissioned by the most renowned European cities and cultural centres, think only of Venice and St. Petersburg, to shape urban development and embellish their buildings. The Town Hall, supported by the City Council and some private citizens to whom we offer our most sincere gratitude, in continuing this artistic and cultural tradition which distinguishes our village, in 2016 named “the most beautiful in Switzerland”, is convinced that it is necessary to engage in organising and promoting cultural events having broad appeal which also gives emerging artists the opportunity to access an international platform.

Thus, after the success of the 2016 edition, we are pleased to present the public with another, entitled “Lo spazio ritrovato”, showing how contemporary art can influence the perception of urban space, through discovery and appraisal adding further aesthetical value which will surely arouse interest and curiosity in citizens and visitors.

NICOLA BRIVIO
Sindaco / Mayor

 

 

 

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MARTIN VOSSWINKEL

( Erlangen, 1963 ) Urbane Farbfelder, 2018 Acrilico su MDF Interventi site specific

His installations do not lead to having to be read in a specific direction, but they seduce into seeing surroundings in a different light.
Disseminated in the village, Vosswinkel’s urban specimens, geometrical monochromatic paintings, are gently inserted in the urban tissue, absorbing Morcote’s architectures and catalysing the focus on individual elements, which are sometimes ignored, stimulating moments of pure contemplation.

 

 

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ELISA STORELLI E CONSTANTIN ENGELMANN

(Brissago, 1986) (Frankfurt am Main, 1987) Reality Glitch, 2016 | Maniche a vento, alluminio, componenti meccanici e elettronici – Dimensioni variabili

The public installation, located on Garavello’s terrace, consists of two
anemoscopes, textile devices used to measure the wind. The official red wind sock indicates the direction of the wind while the grey one points to the opposite direction, misleading the viewers’ perception.

 

 

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BYRON GAGO

(Santiago de Guayaquil, 1994) Quarto Mandato, 2018 | Vetroresina e rame, Ciascuna 200 x 100 x 150 cm

The artist bases his multidisciplinary research on social and historical aspects. The columns laid on a raised garden, despite being made with contemporary  building materials, express the idea of classicism which is emphasised by its straight groves. Although each one is pierced by a copper spear, victims of an act from an outside force, they maintain their inherent stillness.

 

 

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LANG/BAUMANN

(Bern, 1972), (San Francisco, 1967) Comfort #3, 2005 | Pellicola in poliuretano, tubo flessibile, ventilatore – Ciascuna 2.2 x 5 m

Through prior analysis of the location and context of their interventions, Lang/Baumann initiate a dialogue with the existing situation, often playfully upending expectations and disrupting patterns of perception. Two transparent polyurethane cylinders, positioned in two windows of the exhibition venue, when inflated, are constricted by the window frame and transformed into two large spheres, resembling enormous soap bubbles.

 

 

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ALEX DORICI

(Lugano, 1979) Installation Rope – 300 meters Light, 2016 | Corda navale arancione 160 m, corda navale bianca 140 m, luce UV Permanente

His most notable works are site specific installations which intervene in the urban context redefining its spatial properties. The installation, created inside the medieval Torre del Capitano in occasion of the 2016 edition, has been acquired by the Municipality. Using the mullioned gothic window as a starting point the artist created two naval rope structures, illuminated by wood’s lamps.

 

 

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ADRIANA BERETTA

(Brissago, 1950) Senza titolo, 2018 | Marmo bianco – Intervento site specific

Adriana Beretta’s research oscillates between narration and conceptuality using different mediums and inviting us to consider the theme of perception.
Embedded in a niche, the site specific work reiterates, using signs borrowed from the IBM alphabet (ASCII codes), an architectural reframing; imparting the location with a new setting for a new space.

 

 

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BEATE FROMMELT

(Chur, 1973) Nella rete, 2018 | Filo – Intervento site specific

At the core of her interest is the reflection of space and its perception, connected with studies on light and shadow. Situated on the archway of Sant’Antonio Abate’s Chapel, the installation interacts with the unusual iconography of the late gothic fresco placed on the altar, depicting the vision of Saint Anthony, taking the shape of the net where souls of the dead are caught.

 

 

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MARGHERITA TUREWICZ LAFRANCHI

(Szczecin, 1961) Billboard, 2005 | Ferro, plexiglas e lana di acciaio – 220 x 288 cm Permanente

Through the use of industrial materials such as steel, copper and plexiglas the artist creates primary structures which are characterised by weightlessness. Billboard is a poster that advertises nothing if not the spectacular view opening upon the village and lake, filtered by a cloud made of steel wool encased in transparent acrylic glass, questioning us about vision and how it can be influenced by external sources.

 

 

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ALBERTO BIASI

(Padova, 1937) Light Prisms, 1962/2018 | Elettromotori, prismi, proiettori a luce bianca – Intervento site specific – Courtesy Galleria Allegra Ravizza

Amongst the most coherent and authoritative artists on international level in a movement defined in Italy as “kinetic” or “programmed” art. The artwork is an adaptation of previous work, developed specifically for the exhibition, interacting with the surrounding sacred space with its deflected light and circular form in constant referral to the frescoed cupola.

 

 

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GYSIN VANETTI

(Zurigo, 1975), (Locarno, 1975) | Ostacoli, 2014-2018 – Legno verniciato – Ciascun elemento 300 cm

The duo is renowned for multimedia and technological installations characterised by playful and interactive aspects.
Laying on the Scherrer Park’s lawn, on the main terrace and inviting visitors to view it from above, an equestrian obstacle course has been selected and set out creating geometric patterns thus completely erasing the original elements function.

 

 

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ARTHUR DUFF

(Wiesbaden, 1973) Scattered edges, 2018 | Corda in poliestere, tubi al neon, trasformatori, cavo elettrico – Intervento site specific

Known for his luminous interventions in public spaces, Arthur Duff is able to modulate matter and shape, light and shade, creating installations using lasers and neon lights. The work, conceived for the lemon grove in the Scherrer Park, plays with the relationship between internal and external dimensions by creating membranes which envelop space as if they were liana stems where neon lights are applied at their tips.

 

 

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SIMON DEPPIERRAZ

(Morges, 1984) Reverso, 2018 | Specchio, legno – 260 x 260 cm

His work reveals the importance of the dialogue between work and context, but also between the art piece and the public, in a harmony which is interpreted by the deconstruction of the landscape. A circular mirror placed at the base of the small shrine plays with the Scherrer Park’s perfection and symmetry breaking its horizontality with the intervention of a vertical reflection of the dome.

 

 

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SYLVIE FLEURY

(Genève, 1961) Guardian (gold), 2010 | Vetroresina, cristalli Swaroski, LED – 150 x 50 x 50 cm

The artist is known for her installations and sculptures dedicated to the world of glamour, fashion and luxury products. Placed in the Siamese Tea House, inside the eclectic Scherrer Park, the pop-kitsch Buddha is in dialogue with golden lacquers and precious oriental antiques, creating a momentary estrangement inviting us to reflect on the modernity of the Orient’s culture.

 

 

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GIANNI COLOMBO

(Milano, 1937 – ivi, 1993) Spazio Elastico – Cubo, 1959/1985 | Metallo, elettromotore – 40 x 40 x 40 cm – Courtesy Galleria Allegra Ravizza

Space, an invisible element, becomes central in his research for an accurate study of how it relates with the spectator. The work, placed inside a garden pavilion in the Scherrer Park, destabilises the rigidity of both the mathematical and perspective grids in the physiological process of a living organism, establishing a dialogue between context, equilibrium and dynamism in a continuous alteration of perception.

 

 

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KAROLINA HALATEK

(Lodz, 1985) Ray, 2018 | Vetro acrilico, ferro, LED, legno – 480 x 120 x 120 cm

Using light as a key medium and material for her installations, Halatek creates experiential spaces which are both architectural and sculptural. The work is a structure-column built in the form of an octagon, the central element of the architecture in which it has intervened. It welcomes the visitor who is immersed in a vertical space illuminated by LED light.

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