Gianni Pettena
dal 4/7/2013 al 20/9/2013
Segnalato da
4/7/2013
Gianni Pettena
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art UMOCA, Salt Lake City
Forgiven by Nature is an immersive survey of his artistic practice and architectural propositions. The span of work presented looks back at his early roots in the Italian Radical Architecture Movement in the late 60es and early 70es up to the artist's current productions.
The Radical Architecture Movement ushered in a new wave of imagining the role of the architect and the possibilities of the built environment. Responding to the ever-systematizing structures of Modernist Architecture, the Radical Architecture Movement denoted a critique that included utopian and often dystopian possibilities. From the beginning, Gianni Pettena’s practice aimed to better understand how architecture ultimately succumbs to the powers of nature, and he developed strategies that embraced such forces.
In 1972, Pettena was invited by Bob Bliss to teach at the University of Utah. While in Salt Lake City, Pettena encountered a landscape that represented the application of philosophies he was developing, which is evident in his most iconic work produced—The Salt Lake Trilogy (1972)—a series that includes Clay House, Tumbleweeds Catcher and Siege (A Red Line).
Gianni Pettena: Forgiven by Nature looks at how the artist has established his particular style of engaging with the landscape through tensions between man and nature. Early film, documentation, spatial interventions, photographs, drawings, and archival materials make up the presentation at UMOCA.
Pettena has also produced several on-site installations including Human Wall and Human Space, as well as a new version of The Absence of Bodies (Laundry) (1969/2013). In the context of the Utah Biennial, his iconic Tumbleweeds Catcher sits as the centerpiece of the exhibition.
Image courtesy of the artist and Galleria Enrico Fornello, Milan
Press contact
Sarina Ehrgott at 801.328.4201 x115 or sarina.ehrgott@utahmoca.org
Opening Reception JUL 5, 6-9 PM | Curatorial Walkthrough 6 PM | Admission Is Free
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art
20 S West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Hours
Closed Sun & Mon
Tue - Thr: 11 am - 6 pm
Fri: 11am - 9 pm
Sat: 11 am - 6 pm
Admission is free