Marina Paris
22 Feb - 24 Mar 2012
MARINA PARIS
Unreal Space
22 February – 24 March, 2012
Marina Paris was born in 1965, lives and works in Rome. Marina Paris ́s artistic investigations are generated from the contact with and subsequent contamination with the science of architecture, which for this Roman artist cannot be reduced simply to measurements, metrics and form, but reaches further to deal with the idea of existential, symbolic and psychic space. This blend of art and life has spurred the artist’s interest in office building architecture, and most particularly in public spaces, those public spaces that are symbolic of collective memory and cultural identity. Marina Paris is most interested in interstitial spaces, the terrain vagues, and all the carefully thought‐out, created spaces designed for passage and passing through. Corridors, waiting rooms, subway stairs, university classrooms and more are captured through Paris’s photographic lens, presented to the viewer emptied of human presence. The element which in reality is capable of hiding the scope and configuration of these spaces is “sacrificed” in Paris’s photography, abandoned in favor of a deeper investigation into the space that becomes the location of collective imagination. The artist’s efforts do not end with simple narrative description of a specific site, but tend to concentrate on the sensations that these spaces are capable of evoking, as well as the impact that they can have on a viewer. The installation Ambiente Mobile (Moving Environment) is a perfect example. Already presented at the last Rome quadrennial, the installation is being set up anew specifically for this Milanese show. The work is composed of a long corridor that is difficult to pass through because a moving walkway continuously carries visitors in the opposite direction. The artwork, which can in some measure be understood as homage to Bruce Nauman, expresses a sense of distress and claustrophobia typical of Paris’s poetics. The exhibition focuses on involving the visitor physically and at a sensorial level, tending to emphasize the gallery space insofar as it participates in interaction with those using it. For this reason, the artist’s photographs often portray empty, hybrid spaces, pregnant with a sense of waiting and expecting. These are places where people conduct passing activities, places they merely cross through, preliminary locations that always lead to somewhere else, holding the visitor on standby precisely because they are absolute and objective. Thus they become ontological, the essence of existence.
The most recent solo and group exhibitions by Marina Paris include: Su Nero / Over Black, Castello di Rivara, Centro d ́arte Contemporane, Torino, 2011; Other Spaces / Other Chances, Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint‐Etienne, 2010; Il ventre dell’architetto, Jarach Gallery, Venice, 2010; Fragile, Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, 2009; Contes et passions épisode 2 ‐ Galerie Placido, Paris, 2009; Public Spaces, Galleria Pack, Milan, 2009; Fragile, Terres d'empathie / Fields of Empathy , Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint‐Etienne, 2009.
Unreal Space
22 February – 24 March, 2012
Marina Paris was born in 1965, lives and works in Rome. Marina Paris ́s artistic investigations are generated from the contact with and subsequent contamination with the science of architecture, which for this Roman artist cannot be reduced simply to measurements, metrics and form, but reaches further to deal with the idea of existential, symbolic and psychic space. This blend of art and life has spurred the artist’s interest in office building architecture, and most particularly in public spaces, those public spaces that are symbolic of collective memory and cultural identity. Marina Paris is most interested in interstitial spaces, the terrain vagues, and all the carefully thought‐out, created spaces designed for passage and passing through. Corridors, waiting rooms, subway stairs, university classrooms and more are captured through Paris’s photographic lens, presented to the viewer emptied of human presence. The element which in reality is capable of hiding the scope and configuration of these spaces is “sacrificed” in Paris’s photography, abandoned in favor of a deeper investigation into the space that becomes the location of collective imagination. The artist’s efforts do not end with simple narrative description of a specific site, but tend to concentrate on the sensations that these spaces are capable of evoking, as well as the impact that they can have on a viewer. The installation Ambiente Mobile (Moving Environment) is a perfect example. Already presented at the last Rome quadrennial, the installation is being set up anew specifically for this Milanese show. The work is composed of a long corridor that is difficult to pass through because a moving walkway continuously carries visitors in the opposite direction. The artwork, which can in some measure be understood as homage to Bruce Nauman, expresses a sense of distress and claustrophobia typical of Paris’s poetics. The exhibition focuses on involving the visitor physically and at a sensorial level, tending to emphasize the gallery space insofar as it participates in interaction with those using it. For this reason, the artist’s photographs often portray empty, hybrid spaces, pregnant with a sense of waiting and expecting. These are places where people conduct passing activities, places they merely cross through, preliminary locations that always lead to somewhere else, holding the visitor on standby precisely because they are absolute and objective. Thus they become ontological, the essence of existence.
The most recent solo and group exhibitions by Marina Paris include: Su Nero / Over Black, Castello di Rivara, Centro d ́arte Contemporane, Torino, 2011; Other Spaces / Other Chances, Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint‐Etienne, 2010; Il ventre dell’architetto, Jarach Gallery, Venice, 2010; Fragile, Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, 2009; Contes et passions épisode 2 ‐ Galerie Placido, Paris, 2009; Public Spaces, Galleria Pack, Milan, 2009; Fragile, Terres d'empathie / Fields of Empathy , Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint‐Etienne, 2009.