English
Until October 23 the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia exhibits Back in Black, by the artist Andrea Murocchio in the Ca ´Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art. The exhibition is organized around a series of works in which photography, video installations and black sculptures induce the viewer to reflect on reality.
Murocchio´s work is strongly influenced by the idea of zeitgeist, which refers to the intellectual climate of an era. In this case, the zeitgeist is expressed through the use of the colour black, which defines a time of war and a period of crisis in the economy, the environment and human values. Murocchio uses black to express her emotions in the face of a reality which is causing individuals to lose their identity and their belief in the future.
The colour black has enormous symbolic and metaphorical impact on society. It is used to represent death, mourning and powerful, dark emotions. In art, this colour reflects the mood of the artist and the conceptual expression of his or her personal world and the object of his or her aesthetic construction.
Murocchio Andrea was born in Venice in 1967. Despite graduating as a political scientist from the University of Papua, she dedicated herself to photography, and, during the 90s, began exhibiting the work she had carried out in Cuba and Africa. Since then she has worked with sculpture and video, among other art forms.
Her exploration of the senses through the use of colour has been a major part of her work. In 2004 she made a public intervention with a piece called Golden Globe, a sculpture with a pulsing red light on its tip, symbolizing the blood of the journalists killed in the bombing in Bosnia. This work was illuminated for several nights and sent out her message of protest against war and civilian casualties.
Murocchio has curated several exhibitions and art projects related to art and politics, something that has been a recurring theme in her work. In 2004 she was curator of the show PetroLogiche, which presented works on issues related to contamination caused by the Marghera petrochemical industry.
The most interesting thing about the work of Murocchio is the aesthetic delicacy of her creations. The sculptures are made with smooth lines and they are highly delicate. The impact they have is due not only to their critical symbolism but also to their physical beauty.
For more information http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/frame.asp?pid=2058&musid=251&sezione=mostre
Nancy Guzman
Enjoy yourself this autumn by renting one of the apartments in Venice and coming to visit one of the most romantic and beautiful cities in Europe. Back in Black is just one of the many cultural events this city has to offer.
Translated by: Ben Palmer
