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The
work has been realised in occasion of the third edition
of Arte all'Arte, organised by the Association Arte Continua,
under the direction of Florian Matzner and Angela Vettese.
For that occasion Paladino installed 50 sculptures in terracotta
realised by the ceramist Gatti in Faenza.
Following the donation, and in order to render permanent
the installation of the work, a large part of the "Dormienti"
has been cast into bronze by the Fonderia Venturi in Bologna,
mainly thanks to the help offered by the City Council of
Poggibonsi, Arte Continua and some private sponsors. This
initiative shows the ability of the artist, indisputable
protagonist of the Italian art scene of the last two decades,
in relating his works with the Italian artistic heritage:
a great notoriety was encountered by the installation of
the Mountain of salt in Napoli, Piazza del Plesbiscito,
for the new year's eve of 1996.
More
generally, this donation is a demonstration of how present
art can cohabit with art from the past, without denying
it or offending it but contributing to its valorisation.
The Tuscan territory, as any other among the Italian territories
which have been marked by cultural influences from the past,
is now enriched by a new precious presence: thanks to initiatives
like this one, we can show that the process through which
art and architecture have progressively stratified themselves
along the centuries, has not ceased at all but continues
to exist thanks to the artists, the architects and the sensibility
of certain local public administrations.
In concomitance with the opening of "I Dormienti", the artist
will install a display of his most recent works: twenty
tables of 70 cm by 100 cm each, entitled "Laboratorio",
which will be exhibited for the first time in the rooms
of Poggibonsi's council. They are sheets of aluminium painted
and covered with a metallic net, which intends to be a sort
of scientific meditation on the activity of painting. The
artist suggests in this way a matching between nocturnal
works as "I Dormenti" with the diurnal shiny paintings of
the series "Laboratorio".
A similar association has been recently proposed in a solo
show held in two spaces in London, for which a soundtrack
had been especially created by the musician Brian Eno. These
international acknowledgements increase the prestige of
the Tuscan event, underlying the wise far-sightedness of
the local administrators and the talent of the artist. Besides
the realisation of a magnificent film-documentary by the
director Pappi Corsicato, a catalogue devoted to the works
"I Dormienti" will be soon edited by the Association Arte
Continua, with written contributions by Florian Matzner,
James Putnam and Angela Vettese.
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