Michele Gabriele: The extended gaze, in the depth of a reflection
In the exhibition: The extended gaze, in the depth of a reflection, Michele Gabriele has created a new series of works that explore the states that exist between the viewer: the one who observes and the artwork: the subject of the observation. Gabriele鈥檚 works seek to fluctuate between these two states. They play with the movements the viewer makes in the art space: how they look at sculptures and paintings, and how the art space itself shapes our perception of the works.
At CANTINA, Gabriele has installed a generic, gray carpet that could be found in any institution and painted the central pillars of the room in the same color. The carpet considerably resembles the carpet that was in Cantina鈥檚 premises when it was taken over as an office space, and which has since been replaced with a smooth, concrete floor that is more suitable for the art space. Now the carpet has found its way back as a dogma the artist has willingly imposed on themselves to work with.
Inspired by the early landscape paintings that moved into homes and became a window to another view, Gabriele鈥檚 works reach for the sensation of sinking into a painting. At first glance abstract, covered in rapid strokes, they bring to mind the works of post-war abstract expressionists such as Cy Twomly鈥檚 charcoal doodles or Joan Mitchell鈥檚 paintings of fierce paint gestures. Behind the strokes, transparent layers of sky, landscapes, horizons, jewellery, eyes and animals emerge.
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In the exhibition: The extended gaze, in the depth of a reflection, Michele Gabriele has created a new series of works that explore the states that exist between the viewer: the one who observes and the artwork: the subject of the observation. Gabriele鈥檚 works seek to fluctuate between these two states. They play with the movements the viewer makes in the art space: how they look at sculptures and paintings, and how the art space itself shapes our perception of the works.
At CANTINA, Gabriele has installed a generic, gray carpet that could be found in any institution and painted the central pillars of the room in the same color. The carpet considerably resembles the carpet that was in Cantina鈥檚 premises when it was taken over as an office space, and which has since been replaced with a smooth, concrete floor that is more suitable for the art space. Now the carpet has found its way back as a dogma the artist has willingly imposed on themselves to work with.
Inspired by the early landscape paintings that moved into homes and became a window to another view, Gabriele鈥檚 works reach for the sensation of sinking into a painting. At first glance abstract, covered in rapid strokes, they bring to mind the works of post-war abstract expressionists such as Cy Twomly鈥檚 charcoal doodles or Joan Mitchell鈥檚 paintings of fierce paint gestures. Behind the strokes, transparent layers of sky, landscapes, horizons, jewellery, eyes and animals emerge.
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In the exhibition: The extended gaze, in the depth of a reflection, Michele Gabriele has created a new series of works that explore the states that exist between the viewer: the one who observes and the artwork: the subject of the observation.
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