CATANIA – The artist and patron Antonio Presti – president of the Fiumara D’Arte Foundation – after the construction of the monumental “Butterfly Gate”, he does not stop and donates two new works of art to the community of Librino, starting to give shape to the open-air contemporary art museum “MAGMA”. They are two sculptures of light that convey the vision of beauty with their shadow. “Love” And “The Dreamer” were created by the Florentine artist Fabrizio Corneli and installed, respectively, in the “Le Ravennate” condominium complex and in the public housing units located in Viale Bummacaro 9.
The works will be inaugurated Friday 10 May at 6.30 pmin the presence of journalists, institutions, associations, but above all the inhabitants of the neighborhood, who have experienced the artistic process of regeneration firsthand.
Two works that make light their material
The works are composed of stainless steel sheets and a lighthouse placed at the bottom which projects a beam of light upwards. The sculptures reveal their magic when the sun sets: thanks to the lighting, the shadows of the sheets draw a face for “The Dreamer” and the vision of a kiss for “Amare”. The light therefore becomes a brush and the shadow its stroke, giving the users the vision of the work only when it is all dark around: it is thanks to these light installations that, according to Antonio Presti, «even at night it will be given back to the inhabitants of the neighborhood the vision of Beauty.” «It’s not the first time I’ve drawn a face and a kiss with shadows – declared Corneli – they are two archetypal figures, shared by all the cultures of the world, subconscious images that art has the aim of bringing out».
The Antonio Presti – Fiumara d’Arte Foundation comes into contact with the microcosm of the Librino condominiums
“MAGMA” begins to take shape: the project to transform Librino into an open-air contemporary art museum, conceived by the maestro Antonio Presti and the Fiumara Art Foundation. And once again the inhabitants of Librino themselves will be the protagonists of the artistic process: after having involved the schools and associations for the creation of the “Butterfly Gate”, Presti has now chosen to approach the condominiums of the neighborhood: «The condominiums are a complex microcosm made up of cooperatives, people and stories. Entering the condominiums you discover a different Librino from the one narrated by the media.” For months the Foundation has been talking with the condominiums that will host the new works and has organized creative workshops with clay in the courtyards: art thus becomes a medium for exchanging opinions with the tenants, to find out their impressions and forge new bonds . The Foundation continues the spiritual and artistic mending of the entire neighborhood, sharing even more with the inhabitants the transformation process that involves the entire community of Librino.
An opportunity that the condominiums and the IACP welcomed positively
«I express great satisfaction – he states Angelo Sicali, President of the IACP of the city of Catania – for the collaboration undertaken with Antonio Presti and his Foundation. These urban regeneration interventions want to affirm the importance of art and culture as identifying elements of belonging for our assignees». The condominium owners responded positively: both young and older tenants participated in the workshops and shared the project of the work. The administrator of “Le Ravennate”, Leandro Maria Amato, declared: «This work will bring light into the hearts of the inhabitants, small and large, shaking the cultural and artistic soul of the neighborhood». The choice of condominiums is no coincidence: “Le Ravennate” and the public houses of Viale Bummacaro 9 stand out almost opposite each other, separated by that overpass which has housed the Porta della Bellezza for more than twenty years. The idea is to redesign the entrance to Librino, concentrating the works of art nearby, so as to create – in germinal form – an outdoor artistic park, destined to expand more and more, chasing the dream of transforming the The entire booklet becomes a work of art. Consequently, the new generations will grow up with a new vision of the beauty of the neighborhood, nourishing themselves more and more with identity and pride in being citizens of Librino and Catania. «A great work of sowing for young people, which always aims at sowing as a harvest – concludes Antonio Presti – I am happy to read in the eyes of the Librino community, and especially of all the mothers involved, a new emotion, a strong pride and a warm hug.”
Who is Fabrizio Corneli, the artist who gives shape to light
The Florentine artist Fabrizio Corneli has used light and shadow since his beginnings: after studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, he began to “sculpt” shadows in 1979, after being invited to be part of the exhibition collective exhibition “Le Alternative del Nuovo”, in Rome. Subsequently he moved to Germany, to Cologne, and there he installed his first large permanent work: “Augenblik”. Corneli’s name is starting to be heard by art experts from all over the world: Japan, Belgium, Germany, Qatar, etc… and now he is ready to arrive at Librino: «My shadows ride the limit between the real and the abstract: they trick the brain into believing that they lead to real objects, when in reality they arise from the plates. And then the user is forced to make a perceptive leap, to re-discuss reality and finally see the art” declared the artist.
PLAN:
Friday 10 May | 9.30am Neighborhood meeting
Extraordinary presentation session of the new project of the Antonio Presti ETS Foundation, in the presence of Antonio Presti, the artist Fabrizio Corneli, the directors of the Librino schools and the mothers of the neighborhood. The works will be dedicated to the mothers of Librino on the occasion of Mother’s Day.
Friday 10 May | 6.30pm Inauguration
The works will be inaugurated in the presence of journalists, institutions, associations, but above all the inhabitants of the neighborhood, who have experienced the artistic process of regeneration firsthand. The first work to be inaugurated will be “La Sognatrice”, at the condominium in Viale Bummacaro 9, and subsequently “Amare” will be inaugurated, at “Le Ravennate” in Viale Castagnola 17.
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May | 7pm
Opening to the public and visit of the inaugurated works
