Alice Cattaneo
Unbroken Landscape
April 28, 2022 - May 27, 2022
Works
Artworks
3D Tour
Press Release
MLF Marie-Laure Fleisch is pleased to present Unbroken Landscape, Alice Cattaneo’s new solo exhibition in the gallery. A dominant presence of glass might have characterized her earlier work, but the new landscape we get to see gives pride of place to stone. The Venetian glass so dear to Cattaneo does not disappear for all that. On the contrary, this exhibition proves to be fertile ground for a new hybridization between materials, with a fascinating contrast between mineral opacity and transparency. As always, the choice of material implies the prior exploration of a specific field. Apart from the artist’s long-time collaborations with master glassmakers, she now has new relationships with stonecutters. The fundamental principle of Cattaneo’s practice remains unchanged: the apparent simplicity of her work partly resides in her consummate mastery of ancestral knowledge.
Following an invitation last year to create an in situ work in the Italian region of Liguria, Alice Cattaneo took a keen interest in the minerals in the area. She was fascinated by the landscape of this valley, an ancient place of pilgrimage impregnated with the heritage of the different adjacent regions, and discovered a cave that for several generations had been exploited by the same family. This new body of sculptures is therefore above all the result of the meeting between an artist wishing to celebrate the know-how of Italian craftsmen and a family carrying on the tradition of manual stonemasonry from father to son. During her research, she also was influenced by the typical stela statues (a type of prehistoric monument) in the region. Cattaneo could follow the entire extraction process of the stones, which are probably similar to the rock used for such anthropomorphic sculptures 3000 years ago. In addition to this “geological memory,” which she condenses in her work, the artist was invited to the workshop to witness the shaping of this material that is particularly sensitive to its environment, making the color of each stone unique.
Rather than as a structured staging, Cattaneo wants her unique works to function as a scenography. Continually striving for harmony in her creations, the artist deftly confronts balance, tension, and gravity. The forms she uses are not figurative but suggest the hand that produced them. The exhibition, conceived as a landscape, consists of atypical elements extracted from the earth that unite in a new choreography designed by the artist. In this process, she could rely on information from a 16th-century herbarium found in the region of Liguria, an allegorical synthesis of the mountain landscape she explored. Wishing to infuse the region’s soul into her creations–which become the fragments of a matrix shaped by nature–the artist has reconstituted the colors from the book with natural pigments. These pigments, which she slowly spread on selected fractions of the stones, are therefore sculptural elements in their own right, additional indications as to the origin of these landscape totems.
Cattaneo achieves her artistic translation of the gaze mainly through the fragmentation of materials which, like the natural environment from which they stem, are bodies capable of expressing themselves independently of any concrete meaning. The sculptures being shown here–on pedestals, on the ground, or fixed to the walls–bear witness to the artist’s desire to simplify forms to the limit in the hope of externalizing the soul of the panorama which she wishes to reconstruct, an approach which is akin to animism. Just as the territories that have fed her imagination keep changing, the artist has never stopped acquiring more skills. In this exhibition, Alice Cattaneo shows us a poetic summary of the Italian mountain landscape in the heart of Brussels.
Artist Biography
Born in Milan, Italy, 1976.
Lives and works in Milan.
Education
2004
Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture, San Francisco Art Institute, USA
2001
BA (Honours) Degree in Fine Art, Environmental Art, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland
Solo Exhibitions
2021
Affioramenti, on the occasion of Una Boccata d’Arte, Fondazione Elpis and Galleria Continua, Spinola Castle, Campo Ligure, Italy
2020
RECURSIVE, Alice Cattaneo, curated by David Komary, Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, Austria
2019
Alice Cattaneo, Museo Archeologico, Acqui Terme, Italy
The Image in the Hand, MLF | Marie-Laure Fleisch, Brussels, Belgium
Alice Cattaneo, curated by Jonathan Watkins, organised by Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, and a.topos, a.topos, Venice, Italy
2018
Alice Cattaneo, MLF | Marie-Laure Fleisch, Brussels, Belgium
Mettere un mare nella nebbia, Museo del Novecento, Milan, Italy
2017
Alice Cattaneo - Michael Höpfner, Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria
2016
Un qui puntiforme unitissimo, Galleria Collicaligreggi, Catania, Italy
2015
Assonometrie, duo show with Antonio Catelani, Galleria Rizzuto, Palermo, Italy
Tensioni e-statiche, duo show with Hilla Ben Ari, Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, Rome, Italy
Col fiato sospeso per circa due ore, curated by F. Pasini, La Quarta Vetrina, Libreria delle Donne, Milan, Italy
2013
Nothing quite flat and more round, Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2012
Contrapositive, duo show with Fred Sandback, Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, Austria
2011
Alice Cattaneo, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, Italy
2009
Premio NY Exhibition, International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York (con S. Arancio), USA
2008
Alice Cattaneo, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, Italy
Alice Cattaneo, MADRE - Museo d' Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, Naples, Italy
2007
Alice Cattaneo, Ikon Gallery, curated by Jonathan Watkins, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Special Project, Art Forum Berlin, Germany
Alice Cattaneo, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom
2006
Alice Cattaneo, Analix Forever, Genève, Switzerland
2005
Alice Cattaneo, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, italy
Micro-Macro, a cura di E. Di Raddo, Tufano Studio25, Milan, Italy
c/o Careof, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan, Italy
2004
Concrete Particularities, Mission 17, San Francisco, USA
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2022
Astratte. Donne e astrazione in Italia 1930-2000, Villa Olmo, Como, Italy
2021
La Vie Matérielle, CENTRALE for contemporary art, in collaboration with Palazzo Magnani Foundation, curated by Marina Dacci and Carine Fol, Brussels, Belgium
Levitas, curated by Giorgio Verzotti, The Open Box, Milan, Italy
2020
Faster Than Ever, curated by J.Watkins, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2019
Il disegno politico italiano, curated by Aurora Fonda and Sandro Pignotti, A plus A Gallery, Venice, Italy
Equilibrium. An idea for Italian sculpture, curated by Giorgio Verzotti, Mazzoleni Art, London, UK
Negative Space. Trajectories of Sculpture, curated by Peter Weibel, Daria Mille and Anett Holzheid, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany
2018
Glasobjekte & Hans Essinger, Garten des Essinger Hauses - Essinger Art Club, Mödling, Austria
Equilibrium. An idea for Italian sculpture, curated by Giorgio Verzotti, Mazzoleni Art, Turin, Italy
La Vita Materiale. Otto stanze, otto storie, curated by Marina Dacci, Palazzo da Mosto, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2017
Combining materials, Rosenfeld Porcini Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Solo Figli, curated by Sergia Avveduti and Irene Guzman, Padiglione de l’Esprit Nouveau, Bologna, Italy
2016
VII. Premio Fondazione VAF. Aktuelle Positionen Italienischer Kunst, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Museum Gunzenhauser, Chemnitz, Germany
Tempo e Dettagli / Times and Details, Artisti/Artigiani/Carlo Scarpa, curated by C. Bertola and G. Blais, Officina Zanon, Falegnameria Capovilla, Aula Mario Baratto Universita’ Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy
La PELLE, Officina, Brussels, Belgium
Premio Fondazione VAF (VII edizione), MACRO Testaccio, Rome, Italy; Stadtgalerie Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Lifting the Veil - 11 International Female Artists, Rosenfeld Porcini Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Linea del Tempo Annodata, Studi Festival, Milan, Italy
2015
Chaotic Passion, curated by A. Lovecchio e CHAN, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy
La Quarta Vetrina, curated by F. Pasini, Libreria delle Donne, Milan, Italy
CArD in citta’, Percorsi d’arte tra passato e presente, curated by P. Baldacci, D. Volpi, Antiquarium Santa Margherita, Piacenza, Italy
Moroso Concept for Contemporary Art, curated by A. Bruciati, Villa Manin, Passariano, Udine, Italy
2014
CArD Contemporary Art & Design, curated by P. Baldacci, D. Volpi, C. Baldacci, Pianello, Val Tidone, Piacenza, Italy
Ritratto dell'Artista da Giovane, curated by M. Beccaria, Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy
Equilibri, curated by L. Cherubini e E. Fiorentini, Galleria Erica Fiorentini, Rome, Italy
Non-Profit & Profit, Galleria SpazioA, Pistoia, Italy
2013
Autoritratti. Iscrizioni del Femminile nell'Arte Italiana Contemporanea, section curated by F. Pasini, MAMbo Bologna, Italy
Arte in Memoria, curated by A. Zevi, Sinagoga di Ostia Antica (RM), Italy
2012
Performing Structures, curated by S. Simoncelli, Wäscherei Kunstverein, Zurich, Switzerland
The Unseen, The Fourth Guangzhou Triennial, curated by J. Watkins, Guangdong Museum of Art, Republic of China
Periplo della Scultura Italiana Contemporanea 3, curated by G. Appella, MUSMA, Matera, Italy
Collaboration, curated by San Rocco Magazine, 13. Biennal of Architecture, Venice, Italy
Segni e (non) sogni. Sperimentalismi e astrazioni, ieri e oggi, curated by G. Verzotti, MIART, Milan, Italy
Italian Genius Now, curated by M. Bazzini - Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy / Santander Cultural, Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Ceci n’est Pas du Cinema!, Rivoli al Cinema, curated by M. Beccaria, Cinema Massimo, Turin, Italy
2011
Arte essenziale, a project of F. Ferrari, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy / Frankfurt Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany
Biennale Giovani Monza, Villa Reale, Monza, Italy
2010
La scultura Italiana del XXI Secolo, curated by M. Meneguzzo, F. Pomodoro, Milan, Italy
Terre Vulnerabili, curated by C. Bertola with A. Lissoni, Hangar Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Roaming. Heterotopias, curated by A. Castiglioni, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Italian Genius – Casa Dolce Casa, curated by M. Bazzini, Centro per L'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Expo Shangai; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan; Taichung Creative and Cultural Park, Taiwan
L'Elogio della Semplicità - Un carattere dell’Arte Contemporanea, curated by G. Verzotti, Palazzo delle Stelline, Milan, Italy
2009
Fragile, Terres d'Empathie, curated by L. Hegyi, Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne, France; The Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, South Korea
Galerie Christine Koenig, Vienna, Austria
Projector, curated by L. Welch and A. Bellaran, FOUR, Dublin, Ireland
Lago Film Fest, Revine Lago (TV), Italy
New Italian Epic, curated by A. Bruciati, Brown Project Space, Milan, Italy
Emerging Talents, Nuova Arte Italiana, curated by F. Nori, Strozzina CCC, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
2008
Italics, Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution, 1968-2008, curated by F. Bonami, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
3rd Biennial of Young Artists, curated by A. Barak, Bucharest, Romania
Soft Cell: dinamiche nello spazio in Italia, curated by A. Bruciati, GC.AC, Monfalcone (GO), Italy
XV Quadriennale di Roma, curated by C. Bertola, L. Canova, B. Corà, D. Lancioni, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
VIDEO.IT, curated by F. Poli, F. Bernardelli, M. Gorni, S. Lacagnina, Accademia Albertina, Turin, Italy
Sporgersi Prego, Galerie Lange und Pult, Zurich, Switzerland
The Mystical, the Scatological and the Occult, curated by C.Lin, Monte Vista, Los Angeles, USA
2007
War, Peace and Ecstasy, curated by C. Alemani, Artissima, Turin, Italy
Nessuna Paura, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
Le Trame di Penelope, curated by E. Zanella, Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Gallarate, Gallarate (VA), Italy
"Apocalittici e Integrati", Utopia nell’arte italiana di oggi, curated by P. Colombo, MAXXI - Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
On Mobility, Premio Furla per l'Arte, curated by C. Bertola, G. Maraniello, Villa delle Rose, Bologna, Italy
2006
Generazioni Rigenerazioni - Arte nell’età dei conflitti ininterrotti, Biennale Arti Visive di La Spezia, Camec, La Spezia, Italy
Outlook - Panorama Italiano, curated by L. Fassi, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy
Fragmented Show, curated by R. Pinto, A. Daneri e C. Pietroiusti, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan, Italy
videoREPORT ITALIA 04_05, curated by A. Bruciati, Galleria Comunale d'Arte Contemporanea, Monfalcone, Italy
La Giovine Italia, curated by R. Barilli, Lo Spazio d'Arte, Gambettola (FC), Italy; Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy
Abstract Art Now: Strictly Geometrical? Curated by L. von Mengden e T.Kiefer, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
OK. Quoi?!, Faucet Media Arts Centre & Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
It’s the little things, Back to the Picture Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Videopassages, curated by M. Gorni and S. Bordone, c/o Careof, Milan, Italy
Supermegadrops 2, curated by C. Agnello, M. Gorni, F. Poli, E. Volpato, CRAC, Cremona, Italy
Premiata Officina Trevana 2006, curated by M. Coccia e M. Predicatori, Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi (PG), Italy
Manomettere, Strategie per un'estetica del precario, curated by D. Lotta, Galleria Comunale d’Arte, Castel San Pietro Terme (BO), Italy
2005
Fragile, curated by G. Romano, Analix Forever, Geneva, Italy
Video.it / Contrappunti, curated by N. Casorati, M. Gorni, F. Poli e E. Volpato, Circolo degli Artisti, Turin, Italy
Idiozie Sofisticate, curated by G. Gianuizzi, neon>campobase, Bologna, Italy
Vorticanti, curated by I. Bonacossa e C. Laubard, Galleria Maze, Turin, Italy
2004
California Masters, Works, San José (CA), USA
FIAV 04-Festival d’Image Artistique Video, Centro Culturale Francese, Milan; c/o Careof, Milan, Italy
2003
Landing, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, USA
The Murphy Fellowship Award, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, USA
21st Century Video Art, Artists Television Access, San Francisco, USA
2002
Creative City, Library of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, San Francisco, USA
Something Haptic, Intermedia Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
The Dirt of Love, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Grants & Awards
2015
Moroso Concept for Contemporary Art, Udine (Finalist), Italy
2012
Premio Lombardia Arte, Regione Lombardia, MIART, Milan, Italy
2009
Premio New York, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Italian Academy at Columbia University, New York, USA
2008
IX Premio Cairo, Palazzo della Permanente, Milan, Italy
Borsa per Giovani Artisti, Castello di Rivoli, Turin (Finalist), Italy
Emerging Talents, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Fond. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (Finalist), Italy
Premio Adolfo Pini per l’Arte Contemporanea, Fondazione Adolfo Pini, Milan (Finalist), Italy
2007
Premio Furla per l'Arte, Villa delle Rose, Bologna (Special Mention), Italy
2006
Premio Epson, Fondazione Antonio Ratti, Como, Italy
2004
Teaching Assistantship, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, USA
2003
Murphy Fellowship in the Fine Arts, The San Francisco Foundation, San Francisco, USA
2002
MFA Merit Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, USA
Residencies
2017
NUOVE//Residency, Bassano del Grappa (VI), Italy
2015
Madeinfilandia, Pieve a Presciano, Pergine Valdarno (AR), Italy
2014
AIR - Artist in Residence, Krems, Austria
2013
Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, con il supporto dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di San Francisco, USA
2009
International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York, USA