2024
20 copies
Signed and numbered
20 copies
Signed and numbered
30×42,5 cm 11.81×16.73 in.
84 pages
+10 loosely inserted photo reproductions of 24×16 cm - 9.45×6.30 in.
84 pages
+10 loosely inserted photo reproductions of 24×16 cm - 9.45×6.30 in.
Japanese stab binding
Hard cover with sunken-in label
Hard cover with sunken-in label
Alessandro Cicoria is a singular figure within the vibrant artistic milieu of Rome. Together with his partner Valerie Giampietro, he resides in a secluded hideaway, STUDIOLI, living in what was once a covert apartment for Italian lawyers and politicians of the 1970s and 1980s. Since 2015, the duo has transformed it into an avant-garde art space. Cicoria’s studio is situated close by, in a district historically inhabited by workers recruited for the Rome Olympics in 1960. It is in this studio that Cicoria meticulously assembles the pieces he has been diligently developing for years.
The book GEMS, conceived for Three Star Books, compiles a key element of the research the artist has undertaken, documenting his unique process of utilizing plastic sheets which are then projected onto informal paintings prepared on paper. The large sheets of painted paper are subsequently coated with silver salts, insulated, and then exposed, culminating in the emergence of a transparent image atop the painted surface.
GEMS is a collection that captures forty original sculpture plastic compositions documented through the lens of a scanner, substituting for the traditional photographic eye. The scanner meticulously records every nuance of the shapes, while the inherently two-dimensional nature of the photographs compresses the three-dimensional essence of the sculpted plastic into a flat image.
The titles of each forty GEMS reproduced in the book draw inspiration from Sol LeWitt’s celebrated work “From Monteluco to Spoleto.” Each image is named after elements from the artist’s daily journey from his home to his studio. This time, instead of using photos to illustrate the trip between Monteluco and Spoleto as Lewitt did in his book, Cicoria has collected street names, favorite bars, pastry shops, restaurants, and other personal landmarks gathered during his commute to his Roma Nord’s studio.
The book also includes ten loosely inserted photographic images that evoke the cinematic ambiance of STUDIOLI and the artist’s studio. These images of STUDIOLI showcase an otherworldly, fictional figure, mirroring the enigmatic past of these spaces. Meanwhile, Cicoria’s studio images capture the dynamic essence of artist studio activities. The presence of these photographs adds an uncanny quality to the assemblage of plastic scanned compositions.
*It's essential to remember that Rome has been a crucible for renowned artists, including the likes of Cy Twombly, Enzo Cucchi, Carla Accardi, among others. It's a cultural hub that artists globally visit.