The Blogazine

Giuseppe Gabellone at GAMeC

Giuseppe Gabellone (b. Brindisi, Italy 1973, works and lives in Paris) is probably one of the most celebrated member of the Italian scene of artists and friends known as Il gruppo di Via Fiuggi (the group of the Fiuggi street); young authors from the late 90’s, who actively work for the re-definition of contemporary art in Italy, giving new meaning and developments to the hard heritage left by the Arte Povera and conceptual art. 
The absolutely independent artistic research carried on by Giuseppe Gabellone first focused on the crossing of sculpture and photography. With a particular analytic and incisive approach in regard to the media, he initially created visual enigmas made of sculptures, which couldn’t survive without the distance achieved only through the photographic reproduction.

Strange shapes that seem to refer to recognisable and functional objects and places, were actually reproductions of shapes, which alluded to the reality, but deprived of their physical status and natural contest, photographed and then destroyed to add further obstacles to their uderstanding. Among them: a cactus made of wet clay pent-up in a garage; curvilinear streets of down tree that never leads to any places; flowers and plants scaled down and apparently out of order, plus objects set into heavy armored structures. 
From this first approach suspended between sculpture and photography, Gabellone moved to a new series of works where matter is represented through the form of bas-relief. Characterized by the use of unusual materials, which contrasts with the tradition of their shapes, these sculptures create ambiguity whilst surprising the viewers by referring to exotic imaginaries.



For the exhibition, expressly thought for GAMeC space, and after a long absence from the Italian artistic scene, once again, Gabellone created original works that analysed the sculpture as main media, but this time focusing on high relief. To do this, the artist put themes like color, surface, and contrast between vast and master to the centre of his research, producing intense chromatic juxtapositions, which remind drawings made by children with crayons. 
This strange promenade made of stuffed fabric guides the path throughout giant components that remind the “movable type”, hypothetical letters that seem to compose only meaningless words, which don’t allude to anything specific, but maintain their conceptual potential, both striking and puzzling the viewers.

Giuseppe Gabellone’s show will run until 5th May 2013.