Charles Avery (Untitled) Regarding the art atom

dimensione ambiente/dimensions variable

The language of Charles Avery, a Scottish artist who lives in London, focuses on fiction and a philosophical reflection based on mathematical logic. Draftsmanship and calligraphy, both particularly dear to the artist, but also sculpture, painting and publications, are translated into installations that constitute narratives on several levels. "(Untitled) Regarding the art atom" is an installation created for the Premio per la giovane arte italiana 2002-2003. It was installed in the Venice Pavillion at the 50th Venice Biennale. Ten pencil drawings and tempera on paper with a tetrahedral sculpture (a solid with four plane triangular faces) resting on a metal table and marked with the primary colors form a multi-dimensional narration. The tetrahedron or art atom, is a recurrent element in Avery’s exploration. It is a metaphor for a universe seen only in part through subjective eyes. It also recalls the geodesic domes of the 1950s designed by architect Richard Buckminster Fuller that were also based on the extension of the basic principles of Euclidian solids. Another reference of the work can be found in Flatlandia (1884), a novel by E. A. Abbott, in which the English writer, theologian and teacher had hypothesized the existence of worlds with multiple dimensions. Avery’s art atom is repeated as the only colored element in each of the ten drawings that depict a group of absorbed persons surrounded by a metaphysical atmosphere.

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M. Kneale, T. Morton, D. Brian (eds.), The Art Atom: Charles Avery, Edinburgh 2003. S. Vannini, M. Pignatti Morano (eds.), Premio per la giovane arte italiana 2002-2003, exhibition catalogue (Venice, Venice Biennale, 50th International Art Exhibition), Rome 2003, pp. 15-17; 21-23. C. Avery, The Islanders. An Introduction, London 2008

Foto Roberto Galasso, particolare

Premio per la Giovane Arte Italiana 2002-2003

Installation