by Silvia Cutuli
Visions, a feminine noun [from Latin visio -onis, derived from videre “to see”, past participle visus].
The wonder of an unprecedented gaze upon the world of architecture, reinterpreting materials such as marble, terracotta, marble grit, bucchero, and decorative systems in the sign of creative and performative art. “Visions” is born, the new project presented by Krei – partners in architecture projects with natural materials – with the artistic direction of Lucrezia Testa Iannilli, photographer, and performer.
Artists Lucrezia Testa Iannilli, Jessica De Masi, and Noemi Gentiluomo inaugurate the rich artistic calendar of Visions: their photographic and video narrative is inspired by bucchero, a particular type of uniformly black ceramics, used by the Etruscan civilization from the 7th century B.C. to the first half of the 5th century B.C.
It tells the legend of an underground force stirring beneath the surface, hidden in the depths of darkness; it carries with it the torment and power of volcanic and seismic activity. It shakes the ground with force and emerges from the bowels, rising like a chthonic deity, capable of revealing secrets, mysteries, and hidden magics in the depths of the earth. It is a wild creature, fragrant with earthy scents, stained black, intense, and luminous. It advances with unnatural movements in the twists and turns of a labyrinth: strips of bucchero, like a modern “Ariadne’s thread,” guide her towards a new dimension, a conjunction between ancient knowledge and the vision of the future. Free, she allows herself to be welcomed into an eternal present, in the magical moment when wonder unfolds: elements of a semi-mythical past slide into contemporaneity, revealing millennia-old processes in the service of bucchero, a primordial material that has reached our days.
“The images created and their genesis offer us a starting point for a broader reflection on the relationship between the world of contemporary art and that of design – reflects Lucrezia Testa Iannilli, curator of Visions – The common belief is that professionals in the field normally present “objects” of art rather than aesthetic and human experiences of quality, relegating works – often significant and with evocative power – to “decorations” in spaces, while contemporary (quality) art creates demand and becomes an action that serves life, performing a useful function for life and can make these same spaces not just beautiful, but true gyms to train and experiment with the ability to see.”
Video CREDITS:
Art Direction + Photography: Lucrezia Testa Iannilli Model + Performance: Jessica De Masi Videomaker: Noemi Gentiluomo Jewelry: Emilia Siano Props: KREI
