Galleria Paola Verrengia presents on Friday 29th November 2019 the exhibition Murano 5.0 by Alessandro Ciffo (Biella,1968), the artist and designer’s second solo show.
Alessandro Ciffo returns in Salerno proposing a new and extraordinary series of works resulting from the tireless experimentation around the potential of silicone.
The name of this exhibition – Murano 5.0 – is linked to the project that Ciffo has been carrying on since 2016 and corresponds to a peculiar way of processing the silicone and to the constant challenge of exceeding the limits imposed by such material. Self- training and self-production are the keywords of his career which is based on the extreme research on the potential of a << slimy, evil, sticky and perfect to be turned into a beautiful thing>> material, his only medium, capable of totally expressing his emotions. The artist’s remarkable technical control, acquired thanks to an experimental attitude, allows him to create works that are extremely difficult to classify, a crossroads between art and design. “The MURANO 5.0 collection has seen the light thanks to the synchronicity of two different occurrences: the discovery of a new kind of silicone which allows to create great transparency and strong textures and a visit to a furnace in Murano where he met some of the best glass masters.Fascinated by their consolidated gestures, their knowledge and their history, I tried to imagine how could I have used this new material and my manufacturing techniques to create an illusion”.
For Galleria Paola Verrengia Alessandro Ciffo presents a site specific project, by creating in the first space a big and immersive light installation, Sinapsi, that stimulates reactions and that, through the close confrontation with the material, accompanies the visitor in an emotional journey. The second one will hold a series of large amphorae and vases from the Umbra collection. Lastly in the third room vases and objects from the Murrine series will be on display, restoring the atmosphere of a suspended between plays of light and transparence environment.
The exhibition will be open until 21st January 2020.
Alessandro Ciffo (Biella, 1968), artist and designer made his debut in the world of plastics and design in 1997, the year in which he created his first collection XXI SILICO. He lives and works in Biella where, in his “laboratory”, he creates furniture, vases, rubbers and art objects.
Among the main solo and group exhibitions are: Galleria Dilmos, XXI Silico, Milano (1999), Salone del Mobile (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008), Città dell’Arte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella (2002), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino (2002), Galleria Secondome, XXI Silico – Marmimolli, Roma (2008), Galleria Dilmos, Serie Scaccomatto-Presentazione di “Ciffecento”, Fiat 500 interamente rivestita in silicone in collaborazione con Fiat Milano (2008), Fondazione Plart, SILICON D, a cura di Cecilia Cecchini, Napoli (2009), Galleria Paola Verrengia, Silicon Colors, Salerno (2009) e la collettiva Cross over design, Salerno (2011), Triennale Design Museum, Quali cose siamo, Milano (2011), Lost in Triennale, Milano (2012), Miami Design Basel, Basilea (2012),G’art (Galleria delle arti) Palazzo di Fondazione Masieri, Venezia (2019). Since 2016 he has been working on the Murano 5.0 project, a series presented at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, at the Must Gallery in Lugano in 2016 and at Venice Design during the 57th edition of the Venice Biennale (2017). Winner in 2019 of two awards of the prestigious A’Design Award&Competition in the Silver category with his Iperbolica Armchairs and in the Bronze category with the Amphorae of the Murano 5.0 series.