Nicola Verlato: ”New Methodological Foundations for Contemporary Painting”
May 05 - June 10
En falleret computer-hacker sætter sig for at generobre rettighederne til sit eget software, men bliver suget ind i computerprogrammet. For at undslippe den digitale verden, må han stå ansigt til ansigt med ondsindet malware, der tager menneskeform og udfordrer ham til kamp. Tron kommer ham til undsætning og sammen bekæmper de systemet.
En falleret computer-hacker sætter sig for at generobre rettighederne til sit eget software, men bliver suget ind i computerprogrammet. For at undslippe den digitale verden, må han stå ansigt til ansigt med ondsindet malware, der tager menneskeform og udfordrer ham til kamp. Tron kommer ham til undsætning og sammen bekæmper de systemet.
Science fiction filmen ”Tron” fra 1982 formåede, med sin banebrydende brug af computergenererede billeder (CGI), at plante et frø i Nicola Verlatos bevidsthed, da han så den slående lighed mellem grafikken i filmens special effects og geometrien i renæssancens perspektivtegninger. Tanken har aldrig sluppet ham, og siden starten af 1990erne har han arbejdet kompromisløst på at knække koden og skabe en helt ny metodologi for det figurative maleri ved at implementere digital CGI software. Resultatet kan vi nu præsentere i Verlatos spektakulære tværkunstneriske soloudstilling "New Methodological Foundations for Contemporary Painting", hvor moderne 3D teknologi møder det figurative maleri på lærredet - og ren magi opstår!
Udrustet med et håndværk på niveau med de store klassiske mestre samt en usædvanlig skarp fremsynethed, har Nicola Verlato konstrueret en kompleks augmented reality – et udvidet lag af virkeligheden med udgangspunkt i det figurative maleri kombineret med virtuel data, der sætter vores sanser på prøve og udfordrer vores opfattelse af det, vi ser foran os.
I bedste stil med kultfilmen Tron bliver vi suget ind i udstillingen gennem Verlatos absolut mest overdådige mesterværk, "Studio for the lower portion of Hooligans", der med sine 240 x 270 cm sender os direkte ind i hans helt egen konstruerede verden af hooligans, skatere og geometriske figurer, der bryder overfladen og fører os helt ind i værkernes inderste rum, hvor vi virkelig kan gå på opdagelse. Gennem forskellige visuelle kapitler skildrer han en række menneskekroppe, udformet i en æstetik, der trækker tydelige historiske referencer til renæssancens kunstneriske tradition. Kroppene og deres relation til rummet omkring dem er de bærende elementer i den gennemgående fortælling, der udspiller sig i takt med, at skulpturerne vrister sig løs af deres piedestaler og udfolder sig for øjnene af os.
Seks storslåede sorte oliemalerier illustrerer værk for værk, hvorledes de figurative elementer insisterende bryder ud af den abstrakte overflade. Henover de seks lærreder kommer flere elementer langsomt til syne i mørket, heriblandt det berømte Mazzocchio-perspektiv, udødeliggjort af de store italienske renæssancemalere Piero Della Francesca og Paolo Uccello, der gennem præcise og matematisk udformede tegninger forudså vor tids digitaliserede og geometriske parallelverdener. Verlatos svævende kroppe lander langsomt, men sikkert på et geometrisk ornamenteret gulv, efter samme matematiske principper som hans historiske forgængere.
Hybridværket ”The Merging” er et vedvarende projekt af maleri, lyd og ikke mindst teknologi. Gennem en digital app til smartphones indbydes vi til at udforske og nærstudere fire af udstillingens skulpturer i 3D. The Merging projekterer et digitalt billede, programmeret af Verlato, hvori samtlige figurer fra de øvrige værker udspringer, som et epicenter for hele udstillingen.
Nicola Verlato har skabt en fuldkommen spektakulær visuel oplevelse, der sprænger rammerne for noget andet udstillingskoncept, vi tidligere har vist. Træd indenfor i et uendeligt rum af sublim detaljerigdom, hvor renæssancens vingesus er allestedsnærværende.
Udstillingen viser to tegninger, ti oliemalerier, fem skulpturer, en videoprojektion samt app’en ”The Merging”, der vækker fire af skulpturerne til live. Find app'en i App Store på din smartphone.
Nicola Verlato vil være til stede under ferniseringen og tilgængelig for interviews. Kontakt galleriet på [email protected] eller tlf. +45 33 33 93 96 for nærmere information.
Nicola Verlato vil være til stede under ferniseringen og tilgængelig for interviews. Kontakt galleriet på [email protected] eller tlf. +45 33 33 93 96 for nærmere information.
A failed computer hacker sets out to retrieve the rights to his own software, but is sucked into the computer program. In order to escape the digital world, he must face a malicious malware that takes human shape and challenges him to battle. Tron comes to his rescue and together they fight the system.
With its cutting-edge use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), the science fiction cult classic ”Tron” planted a seed in the mind of Nicola Verlato back in 1982, as he recognized a striking resemblance between the vector graphic of the movie’s special effects and the perspective drawings of the early renaissance artists. The thought never left him and since the early 1990s he has worked uncompromisingly towards cracking the code and creating a completely new methodology for the figurative painting by implementing digital CGI software. We are now proud to present the result in Verlato's spectacular solo exhibition "New Methodological Foundations for Contemporary Painting", where modern 3D technology meets the figurative painting on canvas - and pure magic occurs!
Endowed with a craftsmanship on the level of the masters of classic painting as well as an unusually sharp foresight, Nicola Verlato has designed a complex augmented reality – an expanded layer of reality based on the figurative painting combined with virtual data that puts our senses to the test and challenges our perception of what we see in front of us.
In line with the movie ”Tron”, we are sucked into the exhibition through Verlato’s grandiose 95 x 291 inch masterpiece "Studio for the lower portion of Hooligans” that sends us directly into his very own constructed world of hooligans, skaters and geometric figures that break the surface and leads us all the way into the innermost space of the artworks where we can really start exploring. Articulated through various visual chapters, he portrays a number of human bodies, aesthetically shaped with the clear intention of resuming and restructuring within the tradition of western classicism. The depicted bodies and their connection to the space surrounding them serve as the principal elements in the overall narrative that unravel as the sculptures rise from their pedestals and unfold right before our eyes.
Six magnificent black oil paintings illustrate how the figurative elements insistently break out of the abstract surface. Across the six canvases, several elements slowly appear in the dark, including the famous Mazzocchio perspective, immortalized by the great Italian Renaissance painters Piero Della Francesca and Paolo Uccello, who predicted the digitized and geometric parallel worlds of our age through meticulous and mathematically designed drawings. Verlato’s floating bodies land slowly but surely on a geometric ornamental floor, based on the same mathematical principles as his historical predecessors.
The hybrid project ”The Merging” is a continuous project that includes painting, sound and technology. Through a digital app for smartphones, we are invited to explore and examine four sculptures in the exhibition, awakening in the 3D projection of the app. ”The Merging” projects a digital image, programmed by Verlato, in which all other elements of the show originate as an epicenter for the entire exhibition.
Nicola Verlato has created a truly spectacular visual experience that go far beyond the framework of any other exhibition concept we have previously shown. Step inside an infinite space of sublime detailing, where the breath of Renaissance is ubiquitous.
The exhibition shows two drawings, ten oil paintings, five sculptures, a video projection as well as the app "The Merging" through which four of the sculptures come to life. Find the app in App Store on your smartphone.
Nicola Verlato will be present at the opening and available for interviews. Contact the gallery at [email protected] or tel. + 45 33 33 93 96 for further information.
Nicola Verlato will be present at the opening and available for interviews. Contact the gallery at [email protected] or tel. + 45 33 33 93 96 for further information.