Questa stanza non ha più pareti
Franscesco Simeti' "Questa stanza non ha più pareti" can be visited by appointment and on the occasion of events and exhibitions promoted by Officine Saffi.
Invited to imagine a permanent installation within the bar, artist Francesco Simeti has produced a site-specific work that engages the history of ceramics and the natural world with the architecture of the new headquarters.
Consistent with his ongoing research into the relationship between humans and the natural and artificial environments they inhabit, the work "Questa stanza non ha più pareti" defines an imaginary realm suspended between the fantastic and the real, brought to life through the combination of figurative elements drawn from material culture. Over the course of several months of research and conceptualization, Simeti conducted an iconographic study on the history of ceramic decoration across cultures and centuries of production. He freely selected decorative elements from ceramic artifacts from public and private collections, which were then reinterpreted into a landscape that envelops the space with composite vegetation, inhabited by terrestrial and marine animals. Entirely covered in large ceramic slabs, the surfaces of "Questa stanza non ha più pareti" magnify the detail—and simultaneously the signs of time and imperfections—of decorations that testify to an uninterrupted and still vital exchange of images and cultural meanings.
The choice to intervene in a space within the Foundation intended as a place of meeting, study, and dialogue is tied to the "open" nature of Simeti's work, conceived from its early design stages to be enriched and integrated over time with three-dimensional elements created during ceramic workshops and educational activities led by the artist himself, together with the working group from Officine Saffi.
Francesco Simeti's work was created with the support of Iris Ceramica Group and the use of customized ceramic slabs through "Design Your Slabs" printing technology by Iris Ceramica Group. At the center of the bar, the counter is entirely covered in red-paste ceramics from “Bottega d’Arte,” a project that highlights the heritage of the Iris Ceramica brand, part of the Iris Ceramica Group.
Francesco Simeti was born in Palermo, Italy (1968), and he lives and works in New York, United States. He is an artist known for his site-specific installations, which aesthetically present enchanting scenes that reveal a more complex subtext upon closer inspection. His work often appropriates photographs from newspapers and magazines to raise questions about the role of images in contemporary discourse. Public Art is a fundamental aspect of his practice, he has worked with Percent for Art and Public Art for Public Schools in NYC, the Multnomah county in Oregon and has created permanent additions to subway stations in Brooklyn and Chicago. He has had solo exhibitions at venues such as Assembly Room, New York, (2019); Open Source Gallery, New York (2017); Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Palermo (2012); and Artists Space, New York (2009). His work has been included in group exhibitions at Museo Civico di Castelbuono, Palermo (2019); ICA Singapore (2017); Palazzo Reale, Milan (2016); and Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin (2014). He has also exhibited work at the Triennale di Milano (2014 and 2013). Simeti lives and works in New York. He works with the gallery Francesca Minini in Italy.
Fondazione Officine Saffi wishes to thank the artist; Iris Ceramica Group for its essential contribution; and Wannenes Art Auctions for the kind concession of the numerous iconographic apparatuses useful for the realization of the work. Special thanks to architect Donatella Melchiori, to Maria Adelaide Marchesoni and Francesca Minini gallery. Thanks also to Riccardo Rossi for his help with the interior design of the bar area.
Consistent with his ongoing research into the relationship between humans and the natural and artificial environments they inhabit, the work "Questa stanza non ha più pareti" defines an imaginary realm suspended between the fantastic and the real, brought to life through the combination of figurative elements drawn from material culture. Over the course of several months of research and conceptualization, Simeti conducted an iconographic study on the history of ceramic decoration across cultures and centuries of production. He freely selected decorative elements from ceramic artifacts from public and private collections, which were then reinterpreted into a landscape that envelops the space with composite vegetation, inhabited by terrestrial and marine animals. Entirely covered in large ceramic slabs, the surfaces of "Questa stanza non ha più pareti" magnify the detail—and simultaneously the signs of time and imperfections—of decorations that testify to an uninterrupted and still vital exchange of images and cultural meanings.
The choice to intervene in a space within the Foundation intended as a place of meeting, study, and dialogue is tied to the "open" nature of Simeti's work, conceived from its early design stages to be enriched and integrated over time with three-dimensional elements created during ceramic workshops and educational activities led by the artist himself, together with the working group from Officine Saffi.
Francesco Simeti's work was created with the support of Iris Ceramica Group and the use of customized ceramic slabs through "Design Your Slabs" printing technology by Iris Ceramica Group. At the center of the bar, the counter is entirely covered in red-paste ceramics from “Bottega d’Arte,” a project that highlights the heritage of the Iris Ceramica brand, part of the Iris Ceramica Group.
Francesco Simeti was born in Palermo, Italy (1968), and he lives and works in New York, United States. He is an artist known for his site-specific installations, which aesthetically present enchanting scenes that reveal a more complex subtext upon closer inspection. His work often appropriates photographs from newspapers and magazines to raise questions about the role of images in contemporary discourse. Public Art is a fundamental aspect of his practice, he has worked with Percent for Art and Public Art for Public Schools in NYC, the Multnomah county in Oregon and has created permanent additions to subway stations in Brooklyn and Chicago. He has had solo exhibitions at venues such as Assembly Room, New York, (2019); Open Source Gallery, New York (2017); Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Palermo (2012); and Artists Space, New York (2009). His work has been included in group exhibitions at Museo Civico di Castelbuono, Palermo (2019); ICA Singapore (2017); Palazzo Reale, Milan (2016); and Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin (2014). He has also exhibited work at the Triennale di Milano (2014 and 2013). Simeti lives and works in New York. He works with the gallery Francesca Minini in Italy.
Fondazione Officine Saffi wishes to thank the artist; Iris Ceramica Group for its essential contribution; and Wannenes Art Auctions for the kind concession of the numerous iconographic apparatuses useful for the realization of the work. Special thanks to architect Donatella Melchiori, to Maria Adelaide Marchesoni and Francesca Minini gallery. Thanks also to Riccardo Rossi for his help with the interior design of the bar area.