They say love conquers all, or, in the case of Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli’s latest artwork: 2000-odd years coupled with a painstakingly meticulous restoration process. Freshly unveiled at London’s Almine Rech Gallery, Eternal Kiss features a pair of ancient marble busts locked in a fictional embrace.
Vezzoli acquired the sculptures at auction and together with a team of archaeologists has restored the Roman portraits of a man (circa second century AD) and a woman (Imperial, Hadrianic, circa 117-138 AD) to their original state. Exploring notions of beauty and the artifact, Vezzoli takes on the role of surgeon as he nips and tucks his subjects, mending their broken features and imbuing them with new personas.
This show marks the Milan-based artist’s return to London following a nine-year absence (his last outing here, in stark contrast to Almine Rech Gallery’s intimate space, was held at the Tate Modern). ‘The exhibition will focus on the objects themselves. Eternal Kiss will become nothing less than the most ancient sculpture of a kiss in existence. It’s as simple – or as complicated – as that,’ muses Vezzoli.
So what next for the multifaceted artist? He’s directed a new film starring Cindy Sherman as an ageing diva, which will be unveiled next month in Greece as part of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna.
Vezzoli explains: 'The main objective of Eternal Kiss is to use the process of aesthetic restoration to re-enact a fictional kiss from two thousand years ago.' Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech Gallery.
Eternal Kiss has, Vezzoli continues, two main aims: 'The first is to restore to the heads the notion that originally they were made to function as objects of desire; the second, and more ambitious, aim of the work is to create the most ancient sculpture of a kiss in existence.' Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech Gallery.
INFORMATION
’Eternal Kiss’ is on view until 3 October 2015
ADDRESS
Almine Rech Gallery
11 Savile Row
London W1S 3PG
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to timeA serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
-
Architecture, sculpture and materials: female Lithuanian artists are celebrated in NîmesThe Carré d'Art in Nîmes, France, spotlights the work of Aleksandra Kasuba and Marija Olšauskaitė, as part of a nationwide celebration of Lithuanian culture
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
‘Who has not dreamed of seeing what the eye cannot grasp?’: Rencontres d’Arles comes to the south of FranceLes Rencontres d’Arles 2024 presents over 40 exhibitions and nearly 200 artists, and includes the latest iteration of the BMW Art Makers programme
-
Van Gogh Foundation celebrates ten years with a shape-shifting drone display and The Starry NightThe Van Gogh Foundation presents ‘Van Gogh and the Stars’, anchored by La Nuit Etoilée, which explores representations of the night sky, and the 19th-century fascination with the cosmos
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhoodTschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in SwedenWanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
-
Marisa Merz’s unseen works at LaM, Lille, have a uniquely feminine spiritMarisa Merz’s retrospective at LaM, Lille, is a rare showcase of her work, pursuing life’s most fragile, transient details
