Bolzano, October 13 (askanews) – The Museion in Bolzano is one of those places where contemporary art manifests itself in its most committed and conscious form, a space that embraces the radical freedom of art and transforms it into an exhibition narrative. This is also the case with the new exhibition, dedicated to the French artist Nicola L., titled "I Am The Last Woman Object" and curated by Leonie Radine.
"Her work," the curator told askanews, "speaks to the present, even though it dates back to 1960. It continues to bring hope, especially in the times we are living in. She has developed both a radically political and socially engaged practice and playful and entertaining works at the intersection of different disciplines: sculpture, painting, performance, drawing, collage, and film."
The exhibition showcases the work of an artist who has lived in many places and explored a wide range of artistic genres, from large banners for demonstrations to magnetic sculptures dedicated to women in history and literature, such as Cleopatra and Madame Bovary, but also Ulrike Meinhof. A significant portion of the exhibition is dedicated to works made to be worn. "One of her most important series," Radine added, "are the 'pénétrables.' She considered them a sort of second skin, and what she had in mind, especially with the collective pénétrables, such as raincoats for eleven or more people to wear together at the same time, was precisely the idea of community and collectivity. She wanted to create a collective body, in the same skin, without distinctions of social class, ethnicity, or other factors that usually lead to exclusion."
The message of Nicola L., who died in the United States in 2018, is radical, despite its apparent simplicity and often even captivating appeal. This is true of her anthropomorphic sculptures, especially "Little TV Woman," which acknowledges her role as a woman as an object. "These works are very fun and playful," Leonie Radine concluded, "but they also take a political stance on traditional gender roles, especially in the domestic sphere, where women are often objectified and confined to a single function."
It's practically impossible to recount all the impressions that Nicola L.'s exhibition evokes. It's only right that each visitor experience them with their own body and their own sensations, as if the entire exhibition were a single, penetrable space that allows us to be ourselves, but within a larger collective body, that of a contemporary art conceived for life and not just for museums. (Leonardo Merlini)
Notizie.it editorial team