Bilico

Defined as a state of balance between opposing forces, or a calm state of mind, equilibrium is a consistent aspect throughout the exhibition, deployed as the artist’s metaphor to reflect intuitive impressions of balance or imbalance.

The selected works of Cortinovis, Riello and Sabatini Odoardi embody the idea of equilibrium’s conceptual mobility, striving to hold a vital balance between all contrasts. In Cortinovis’ Au plus près de ma ligne (Closest to My Line) series, drawn lines on paper are a physical and metaphoric attempt to maintain a direction, while Sabatini Odoardi’s Untitled with Chair sculpture rests upon a fragile point of stability. 

Everyday objects, such as books housed in glass forms in Riello’s Ashes to Ashes unconventional library, inspired by the tradition of venetian glass, as well as formal elements, like Cortinovis’ lines or Sabatini Odoardi’s draperies and Palladium floor plans are decontextualized, isolating their original function. Furthermore, the works observe contradictions and opposing emotions. The three artists transform such material into ideal subjects of experimentation, exploring differing degrees of tension, often by way of ordered variations in compositions of subtle, asymmetrical balance. The outcome is surprising, eccentric, improbable, even enigmatic.