From a reflection on the cosmos and its relationship with reality, the exhibition project develops within the spaces of the Tennis Family House, the hospitality format that, for the fourth year, welcomes institutional guests of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin at the Teatro ragazzi e giovani, a structure that began as an electric cabin in the 1930s and is now a center for theatrical production.
Outside, three works greet visitors: the “moon crescent” by Ettore Favini, the “meteorites” by Paolo Icaro, and the famous “Fibonacci series” by Mario Merz. These three works, where the celestial atmosphere and natural laws dictate the intense relationship between the cosmos and the Earth, are emblematic.
UNA, 2023, the luminous work by Ettore Favini positioned at the top of the left facade, stands out against the sky, activating as an eternal eclipse that regulates the planet’s magnetic forces, overlaying the firmament and entering into dialogue with Artificio naturale, 2011, a group of five Matraia stone sculptures by Paolo Icaro, on loan from Galleria Il Ponte, which, due to their hermetic structure, seem to have arrived as meteors to complete the earthly landscape.
On the right facade, the historic neon work by Mario Merz, Progressione di Fibonacci, 1979, presented in collaboration with Fondazione Merz, showcases the Fibonacci numerical series, which famously governs the rules of evolution in the plant and animal world, appearing as a manifesto for this edition, tracing and introducing the works displayed within the spaces, creating a connection between the physical and the unreal.
Upon entering the theater foyer, a site-specific intervention titled Starburst by the architectural and design studio Stamuli awaits the viewer in a dreamlike environment. In Starburst, galaxies meet, stars are formed, and from chaos, something extraordinary emerges, transforming the theater’s atrium into a portal to a new dimension; an immersive experience that transcends the physical world step by step. The installation features two rows of metaphysical arches reaching towards a yellow crescent moon, set against a deep blue background. It is a point of transition: moving from the ordinary to the surreal. From this immersive entrance, visitors access the artworks in the area.
Interno metafisico, 1963, by Giorgio De Chirico, generously provided by Galleria SECCI, is a unique work of its kind, belonging to the research the artist conducted in the second half of the twentieth century on accumulation material, after investigating the perspectival spaces, figures, and subjects that characterized the poetics of Metaphysics.
An accumulation of materials is found shortly after in Miami Avenue 2019, 2018, by Mark Handforth, on loan from Galleria Franco Noero, where waste pieces, skillfully painted by the artist, are used for an abstract composition resembling a star, whose brightness is provided by the neon lamp embedded within it.
On the opposite side, the luminous work by Mario Airò titled Ottava di Cadmio, 2023, on loan from Galleria Vistamare, serves as a counterpoint to the visual stimuli concentrated in this area, amplifying the immersive dimension in a series of luminous displays that trace the refraction of light on the chromosphere, more easily recognizable in the colors of the rainbow as a gradation and evolution of it, reconnecting to the laws of nature examined by Mario Merz in his work.
Upon entering the small theater, the site-specific environmental installation by Giovanni Ozzola, in collaboration with Galleria Continua, takes shape from the ceiling where the work Contando le stelle, 2024, immerses the observer in a spatial orbit of about 50 square meters, capturing the observer’s gaze upwards, reminiscent of a starry night.
Completing the environment is the circular neon Illuminarsi rompendo l’eterno ritorno, 2024, produced on this occasion, which translates the vision of the third work in the space, Dust on my memories, 2016, composed of suspended bronze bells that evoke the metaphysical dimension in which a recognizable sculptural element – as an everyday object – becomes part of the surrounding landscape, defining a new hemisphere for interpreting the space. Under the starry sky is an installation of Do-Lo-Rez sofas by Ron Arad for Moroso, which arise from the concept of the pixel, understood as a single element of an image, a basic module through which the designer constructs his project. Soft square-based parallelepipeds of varying heights form a unique setting, intertwining the principles of industrial design with a creative artisanal approach. In the same room the 3Nuns stools, also designed by Ron Arad for Moroso. The conceptual irony blends with the masterful use of a material like steel, which in the project sometimes serves as a rigid structure, a supporting core, while at other times it becomes a spring that bounces. Completing the setup are the Square armchairs by Jonathan Olivares, designed for Moroso, characterized by the essentiality of geometric forms and precise, necessary lines, contrasting with the organic shapes of the Anomaly poufs by the Swedish designers Front. This series of seats, designed for Moroso, has an artistic expression that is somehow linked to animal forms or some unknown creature. Anomaly is a project that thrives on contradictions, straddling the line between the visionary manipulation of a body and the design of a companion object.
Project: FITP – Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, in collaboration with Sport e Salute
