Ai Weiwei at the Palazzo Strozzi...
8:39 p.m.
01/19/16 - Between Piazza Strozzi and Vía Tornabuoni, in
the heart of Florence, lies a Renaissance micro-cosmos stopped in time
somewhere in the 15th Century, till Ai Weiwei (China, 1957) decided to occupy
the facade with rafts. He did so to force us not to forget the issue of
migration. Every time we let it go from our minds, Ai Weiwei brings us back to
the tragedy of the refugees. This time he decided to go for high impact,
contrasting with the architecture of the Palazzo Strozzi. The installation, so
bizarre on the facade, puts forth the fragility of the rafts used by migrants
who seek a better life in Europe.
Ai Weiwei - Installation (Reframe), 2016.
Material: 22 rubber rafts, PVC
Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.
The building houses the first Ai Weiwei
retrospective in Florence, which, under the title "Libero", showcases
previous and new works exploring his ambivalent relationship between Western
culture and his own, combined with his activism. The visit starts at the
entrance patio, with an installation made with solar cooking pots, placed
together as wings, emulating freedom. Due to the enormous size of the piece
(too large for the Patio), it's inevitable not to feel claustrophobic. The aim
is that visitors experience a glimpse of what the artist felt when we was
incarcerated in his home country.
Refraction, by Ai Weiwei (2014)
Materials: solar cookers, steel.
Once inside, we see the works that have been
circulating around other exhibitions and biennials. What matters here is how
they interact with the architecture that now houses them.
Stacked, by Ai Weiwei (2003)
Materials: 950 bycicles
Ai Weiwei - Palazzo Strozzi
Blossom, by Ai Weiwei (2015)
Material: porcelain
Iron Grass, by Ai Weiwei (2014)
Material: cast & iron
General view - "Libero" - Ai Weiwei
It's particularly interesting to see a series of
portraits done with the most unconventional of materials: LEGO bricks. With
them, Ai Weiwei revisits Italian Renaissance and picks historic figures
associated with Florence that were deprived from their freedom: Dante (probably
the most popular exiled), Filippo Strozzi (forbidden and exiled by the Medicis
for twenty years, after which, on his return, built the palace that houses this
exhibition), Girolamo Savonarola (executed by orders of the Medici family and
Pope Alexander VI) and finally Galileo (in prison for defending his scientific
ideas). The artificial colors of the LEGO bricks give a certain playful
aesthetic to the portraits, "very Pop Art", according to the artist.
Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) in LEGO, by Ai Weiwei (2016)
Materials: LEGO bricks
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) in LEGO, by Ai Weiwei (2016)
Materials: LEGO bricks
Every city that considers itself important
should have an Ai Weiwei exhibition. The Chinese artist is at the top of his
game and always finds the way to shake the roots of the politics and art
history of the place where he is invited to go.
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