Giovanni Morbin
19 Dec 2009 - 15 Jan 2010
GIOVANNI MORBIN
19.12.2009 - 15.01.2010
Galerija Gregor Podnar / Association DUM is pleased to announce the opening of Dolls, a solo exhibition by Giovanni Morbin.
Dolls, a new series of works by Giovanni Morbin, is having its premiere exhibition at the Project Space of Galerija Gregor Podnar in Ljubljana. These three-dimensional constructions are made out of knife blades whose handles have been replaced by soft, colorful materials. Morbin has named each of these sharp-edged sculptures after an artist. Normally, dolls are meant to be held and cared for, but if someone touches one of Morbin’s dolls, they risk cutting their hands, since the soft part of these objects does not function the way a knife handle does. The series Dolls offers a reflection on sculpture and its fundamental tactile, aesthetic and fetishistic values with regard to the structures of contemporary art production.
Also on display in Ljubljana are Morbin’s drawings and sketches for his 2006 sculpture L’angolo del saluto, a work that has a direct connection to his Dolls in that its sleek, tapering body culminates in a sharp blade. Through its angled form and human dimensions, the sculpture acts as a device to aid people in giving salutes, especially in connection with such famous saluting historical figures as Mussolini and Hitler, as well as the lamentable continuation of their ideological legacy in recent times. This earlier work’s very direct political connotations, of course, distinguish it from Morbin’s new Dolls series.
Giovanni Morbin (b. 1956 in Valdagno, Italy) lives and works in Cornedo Vicentino, not far from Vicenza. Since the early 1980s, his work has frequently revolved around performative practice and the artist’s own physical involvement. In recent years he has been developing a unique reflection on sculpture deriving from objects or tools used in his former performances. These works touch on certain elemental aesthetic and societal aspects and reveal a strong poetic idea. Morbin has presented his work primarily in Italy and Slovenia, for example, at O’artoteca (2003) and Viafarini (2009) in Milan, Galleria Artecambi (since 2006) in Verona, and Galerija Škuc (1995) in Ljubljana.
This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
Giovanni Morbin - born 1956; lives and works Cornedo Vicentino, Italy
19.12.2009 - 15.01.2010
Galerija Gregor Podnar / Association DUM is pleased to announce the opening of Dolls, a solo exhibition by Giovanni Morbin.
Dolls, a new series of works by Giovanni Morbin, is having its premiere exhibition at the Project Space of Galerija Gregor Podnar in Ljubljana. These three-dimensional constructions are made out of knife blades whose handles have been replaced by soft, colorful materials. Morbin has named each of these sharp-edged sculptures after an artist. Normally, dolls are meant to be held and cared for, but if someone touches one of Morbin’s dolls, they risk cutting their hands, since the soft part of these objects does not function the way a knife handle does. The series Dolls offers a reflection on sculpture and its fundamental tactile, aesthetic and fetishistic values with regard to the structures of contemporary art production.
Also on display in Ljubljana are Morbin’s drawings and sketches for his 2006 sculpture L’angolo del saluto, a work that has a direct connection to his Dolls in that its sleek, tapering body culminates in a sharp blade. Through its angled form and human dimensions, the sculpture acts as a device to aid people in giving salutes, especially in connection with such famous saluting historical figures as Mussolini and Hitler, as well as the lamentable continuation of their ideological legacy in recent times. This earlier work’s very direct political connotations, of course, distinguish it from Morbin’s new Dolls series.
Giovanni Morbin (b. 1956 in Valdagno, Italy) lives and works in Cornedo Vicentino, not far from Vicenza. Since the early 1980s, his work has frequently revolved around performative practice and the artist’s own physical involvement. In recent years he has been developing a unique reflection on sculpture deriving from objects or tools used in his former performances. These works touch on certain elemental aesthetic and societal aspects and reveal a strong poetic idea. Morbin has presented his work primarily in Italy and Slovenia, for example, at O’artoteca (2003) and Viafarini (2009) in Milan, Galleria Artecambi (since 2006) in Verona, and Galerija Škuc (1995) in Ljubljana.
This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
Giovanni Morbin - born 1956; lives and works Cornedo Vicentino, Italy