Oasis (Fort York, Toronto). For Historic Fort York, Italian artist Fabrizio Rivola will continue his new series 'Oasis' for which he will build a temporary sculpture on the premises. As the title implies, Rivola will create an oasis one that is both a stereotypical representation of popular depictions of a desert oasis, and an idyllic landscape, and as a response to the specific history and site of Fort York as the symbolic location of the founding of the city of Toronto.
''Oasis''
''Like many artists of his generation who broke onto the Italian and
international scenes in the mid-nineties, Fabrizio Rivola has developed a personal strategy of thought and action, which within the linguistic
nomadism that belongs to him almost as a generational trait, centres on the
complex and varied aspects of the hyper-reality of communication.''
excerpt from brochure essay by Roberto Daolio
For Historic Fort York, Italian artist Fabrizio Rivola will continue his new
series ''Oasis'' for which he will build a temporary sculpture on the
premises. As the title implies, Rivola will create an oasis -- one that is
both a stereotypical representation of popular depictions of a desert oasis,
and an idyllic landscape, and as a response to the specific history and site of Fort York as the symbolic location of the founding of the city of
Toronto. In Mercer's back gallery, Fabrizio presents documentation of his
public interventions. These large scale photographs solidify his intervention not simply as a record, but in a manner that oddly, but seamlessly blends the constructed Oasis into the landscape.
Fabrizio Rivola currently lives and works in Imola, Bologna, Italy. He
completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and the University of
Bologna and received a scholarship from Hochscule der Künste, Berlin. He
participated in various exchange programs and artist residencies and in
2001-2002 was selected for a scholarship at P.S. 1's Italian Studio Program,
New York, NY. He has had numerous exhibitions in European galleries and
museums, including the Palazzo delle Espozioni, Rome; Palazzo Papesse,
Siena; Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw; and Documenta-Halle, Kassel. Writing on
his work has appeared in Flash Art, Italy, and various exhibition
catalogues.
Special Reception Saturday, 29 May, 2 pm - 4 pm for Oasis a public
intervention by Fabrizio Rivola at Historic Fort York, Toronto.
opening reception: Thursday, May 27, 8PM
*opening night Artist Talk by Fabrizio Rivola, 7PM
WHERE:
Mercer Union, A Centre for Contemporary Art, 37 Lisgar St. Toronto, ON
Historic Fort York, 100 Garrison Rd. Toronto, ON