Iconica: Contemporary Art and Archeology/Arte contemporanea e archeologia in Sicilia

by Luigi Ontani (Artist), Mimmo Rotella (Artist), Antonio Riello (Artist)

Juxtaposing contemporary artworks with the archeological wonders of Sicily may sound gimmicky, but the result, intelligently overseen by noted Italian art critic Alessandro Riva, provides some fascinating correspondences. The compositional style of a mosaic-like painting from Sandro Chia resonates with an ancient mosaic in the Piazza Armerina. A new Mimmo Rotella décollage honors a bronze satyr recently rescued from the sea. There's even a place here for as conceptually minded an artist as Wim Delvoye, whose industrial canisters decorated in the manner of fine Dutch ceramics remind us that the amphoras they are placed among from the archaeological museum of Lipari were also utilitarian objects. Other participating artists are Luigi Ontani, Aron Demetz, Paola Gandolfi, Carlo Maria Mariani, Ryan Mendoza, Luca Pignatelli and Velasco, their work an acknowledgement of how the ancient past has nurtured contemporary visions.

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2005