It is a lifelong love that binds Italy to the famous British artist David Tremlett (St. Austell, Cornwall, 1945), who with his drawing permanent has left its mark throughout the country, from the village of Peccioli to the Naples metro, from Piacenza to the Langhe. The intervention that the artist will carry out atFormer Caffarri feed mill in Reggio Emiliathus marks a return “home”, which is however enriched with a deeper social and collective connotation: the work will collaborate in the redevelopment of a degraded industrial area which is slowly being returned to citizens. Now we are just at the beginning: the monumental drawing 13 Silosto be built on the facade of one of the industrial buildings (now converted to educational use) and on the old silos of the feed mill, will be inaugurated in October, at the same time as the opening of a large exhibition Cloisters of San Pietro (increasingly a focus on the contemporary) that recounts Tremlett’s long artistic journey.
Public art in Reggio Emilia and the redevelopment of industrial areas
In collaboration with the Palazzo Magnani Foundation, the Municipality of Reggio Emilia continues with this project to invest in contemporary art as a tool for rethinking problem areas. A direction set more than twenty years ago with the 2003-2006 public art project Invitation to… of the artist Claudio Parmesanswhich brought together four great names in contemporary art to produce works for the city: the works of Robert Morris, Luciano Fabro, Eliseo Mattiacci And Sol Lewitt they laid the foundations of a widespread museum collection open to all, which has been enriched over the years. The last intervention CuriousWonderful Of Joan Fontcuberta it appeared on the facade of the Palazzo dei Musei in 2022.
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From a more markedly social perspective, the Municipality therefore looked at the northern area of the city, at the historic Santa Croce district and in particular at the Ex Caffarri, a building which from a place of abandonment is transforming into a community training and aggregation hub, especially young people, with the help of various educational, ecological, artistic and sporting entities: the Reggio Children Foundation, the Remida Creative Recycling Centre, The Lego Foundation, the Theater Center are based here MaMiMò and a boxing gym. It is alongside them that Tremlett’s intervention will take place, involved at the proposal of the curator and researcher Marina Give it to us who will also be curator of the exhibition Another Step opening in autumn at the Cloisters.
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Interview with David Tremlett on the intervention in Reggio Emilia
When you were invited to Ex Caffarri you were given free rein on where to intervene: why did you choose the entrance and the silos?
From the first visit, and seeing the large size of both the silos and the school area, I was very impressed by the scale of ambition of those who are developing the education complex. Starting with the use of abandoned and unused buildings for the education of new generations. The disused silos represent an enormous construction with no real functional value but in terms of ‘presence’ they were inevitable and central to the area in which the regeneration was to take place. Therefore the link between the school and the silos was intrinsic and evident.
How did the local environment inspire your vision? And how did you adapt your famous geometric structures to the space?
The scale, number and variety of the former industrial buildings in the area are impressive. It was this construction “puzzle”, combined with the mix of inhabitants, ages and their interests, that made me think about how to work on the facade of the school and, secondly, how to work on the surfaces of the silos. The school’s facade design is a simple vertical and horizontal structure with color divisions that act as a brickwork in the background. Silos were a different problem to solve: they are elegant, monumental, eye-catching, and once they lost their original function they became a symbol. I loved the original metallic finish, but felt it was time to give the exterior a new meaning: they no longer have an economic function, their new purpose is to be admired. My colors, which go from light (in the center) to dark (at the ends), maintain all the grandeur of the cylinders with the movement of the tones, leading the gaze from left to right.
Do you think your work will help foster growth in local communities and speak to younger generations?
When art is involved, added, or has a role in something, it becomes a questioner that creates a discourse. This is its function in my opinion: it must not only please the eyes but encourage thought and conversation. With a community like this, my greatest satisfaction would be a general dialogue from all the inhabitants on the link between my contribution and the new function of the Ex Caffarri.
This is just the latest of your many works visible throughout Italy, from the Langhe to Palermo: can you say you have a special relationship with this country?
It’s a long story, but from 1974, when I first visited Italy (Bari), until today, I have tried to understand and involve myself in your country. It still remains at the top of my list of countries I have had the privilege of visiting and working in and I am still baffled by its attraction. It will never be surpassed!
Giulia Giaume
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