Forms Under The Influences
A solo exhibition byJulia Rometti
The exhibition presents a narrative of space, where an heterogeneous collection of conditions, events, materials and speculations, all intertwined with the space itself, are envisaged as characters reenacting themselves, interplaying of shapes and evolving meanings. The forms are under the influences of a dialogue between them, playing with animistic relations, polymorphic speculations and other cryptic freedoms. The exhibition stages a contemplative uncertain reality that dilutes our western readings.
Concrete, sand, shells, fragments of shells, organs, tubes, rainwater drains, the underworld of an
ancient lake, the same fabric of the previous show, 100% cotton, reflective aluminum foil, animal pattern, natural light filtered by the lovestone ivy, a grid, surfaces of projection, in the morning, black 100 % polyester, the space's perimeters equal to the performance area of the floor in artistic gymnastics, delimitation strips, bone color, original tiles, 4 zoomorphic feet, the unconscious collective porosity, the volcanic stone, mise en abyme, replica, lost wax casting, imitation, bronze, nylon ropes, black straps, artificial, chance, circles on the window, the trajectories of the evergreen climbing plant, artificial light, and balance beam.
Rometti’s practice, at a first glance, could be described as site-specific. The works around the space would have had a completely different outcome had the exhibition taken place elsewhere. Thus, the space of the gallery became the artist’s studio while producing the show and the works in it. In a more contemporary approach Rometti could be considered as one of the “Artists under the conditions of exhibition making” as a generation of artists that developed their practices during the 1990’s said. Space, its own material, conditions, human and political histories influence the works being made, the chosen materials and shapes all within the context they are being produced. One would say it’s a mise en abyme of sorts. What is now PEANA was before an old gym transformed and adapted to its current use. Some other elements present in the exhibition refer to an older time, where this precise location was under the water of the lake. In this direction, the use of shells, fragments of shells, refers to the ancient cosmologies that considered the water of the lake connected to the ocean, itself connected to the underworld. Forms Under The Influences amalgamates these histories together with its works, conception of space and light.
Bronze, synthetic strip webbings, and carabiners draws inspiration from two distinct sources: the evergreen ivy that blankets the entire facade of the space, occasionally visible within the exhibition space, and the historical use of the space as a sports club. The art piece itself comprises two bronze circles echoing gymnastic rings suspended by synthetic strip webbings, carabiners, and metal cables. Notably, the bronze is cast without a mold, utilizing the lost wax technique. This casting process allows the transformation of ivy stems into bronze, resulting in a unique and singular cast. The
technique draws a parallel with the fossilization process, aligning with the intention to use present and past elements of the space as geological stripes that may occasionally merge.
Just as the two rings, Bronze lost wax lovestone cast and black polyester rope 1 and 2 use the same casting process with two Ivy stems taken from outside the gallery space and hanging intertwined from a second ceiling created by the artist. This installation at the center of the exhibition space suggests a space within a space that makes the visitor look and reflect on what is happening with their surroundings.
Imagine the outside from the inside and vice versa. Such is the case for the series of canvases 100% cotton fabric and aluminum foil, dots 1,2 and 3, sand, almost empty canvases in which the artist traced and cut with aluminum foil the different dots on the concrete floor resembling animal prints. Yet again Rometti immerses the viewer in her own spatial poetic using reflecting foil to give us a sense of chance resulting from other activities around the gallery space.
Forms Under The Influences also evidences hidden spaces and materials contained in the gallery.Light, and the way it shines into the space through the windows and moves was studied for a lengthy period of time by Rometti, the show was conceived around this very notion and how it is meant to be felt and perceived. In this way works like 100% cotton fabric and aluminum foil, strip 1 and 2 are at play. An aluminum foil strip placed on the top of the empty canvas reflects the light, illuminating upwards and making us look at things from a different scope, it is also the relation between natural and artificial.
Here the aluminum edge in relation with the electric spot light, simulates or competes with the natural sunlight reflection.
Two tile covered beams are presented on the floor, placed over two pairs of carved volcanic stone paws, the color is important, the tile itself is the same as the one in what is now the actual kitchen of the gallery and from what used to be the old steam room of the gym. Their long trapezoid shape, reminds us of a balance beam, with mirrors placed at each end reflecting the incoming light onto the floor. Bone color tiles, mirror, volcanic stone is the title of the work with these two structures. In a way this particular piece could be used as a synecdoche for the exhibition itself since it references light, the history of the space through its materiality and use.
The exhibition's diverse range of materials, conditions and forms allows multiple interpretations and meanings, where our western conception of surroundings is shifted, casting the background as the first role. Overall, Forms Under The Influences presents multi-faceted ways of being in the world.
Special thank you to Therese Regalado
