The exhibition will be an interesting confrontation of two geometric, sculptural artists with two diverse intentions.
Charlotte Bakker works primarily in steel to arrest music and poetry in abstract form.
There is intense movement and emotional undercurrents to her work.
Piergiorgio Zangara works in the MADI style, which focuses on the creation of geometric works which are unrestricted by society or sentiment.
The MADI practice dates back to 1946, when the first exhibition of MADI works was held at the Istituto Francés de Estudios Superiores, in Buenos Aires.
At this exhibition, the first MADI manifesto was distributed, highlighting the strict aesthetic principles which guide the practice.
While many art movements pride themselves on representing the already existent, such as in landscape painting or photography, MADI artists refuse to make the object representative of that which already exists in the world around them.
This includes emotions or ideas.
There is no symbolism in their work.
Instead, they manifest a profound articulation of space and movement through unrestricted use of surfaces.
MADI works spill beyond the limits of the canvas, disrupting convention.
MADI creations can be thought of as “free objects”: invented without intention to evoke emotional, symbolic or representational associations.
The focus is on the pure act of creation by the artist.
In the words of Zangara, “we [MADI artists] express ourselves, but we do not express ourselves”.
“It’s all within the object,” he added.
The only condition for the object’s existence is the materials with which it is made.
Materials used must be similarly free from allusions, background story or feeling.
They can be thought of as “cold” materials, and are typically shiny, new and without shades or undertones.
Zangara often works with clean woods, coloured Perspex and plexiglass.
The word MADI is widely accepted to signify the terms Movement, Abstraction, Dimension and Invention.
A notable artist, Zangara was born in Palermo in 1943, where his father was also an artist.
He studied at the State Institute of Art in Palermo, and has since shown at many prominent museums and galleries around the world, including Palermo, Milan, Florence, Paris, Osaka and Melbourne.
Zangara’s exhibition with Charlotte Bakker is in preparation for an upcoming surveillance of his oeuvre, which will take place at the Museum of Geometric and Madi Art, Dallas, later this year.
The exhibition will open at Conny Dietzschold Gallery, in Darlinghurst, on Wednesday, October 10, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
