Page 49 - Luigi Pericle_Beyondthevisible PRESS REVIEW_SHORT

Englishversion
Beyond the visible.After his oblivion,LuigiPericle w il lbe displayed in an exhibition in Venice
duringtheBiennale
Afterhisreappearancefrom oblivion,thankstotheexhibition”Beyondthevisible”theartbyLuigiPericlewilbepresentedattheFondazioneQuerini StampaliainVenice.InMay,duringtheBiennale.
Anauthorfrom BaselwhosefatherwasofItalianorigins(from Monterubbiano,Marche)-LuigiPericletraversedawholeperiodofarthistoryandwasappreciatedbythe mosteminentnamesoftheartworld:from thecolectorPeterG.StaechelintoSirHerbertRead(trusteeoftheTateGalery),from themuseologistHansHes(thecurator oftheYorkArtGalery)totheownersoftheartgaleryArthurTooth&SonsinLondon.HisartworkswereexhibitedalongwiththoseofAppel,Jorn,Tàpies,Dubufetand MathieuintheSixties.
A fte r a n im p o rta n t tra v e l lin g e x h ib itio n to u rin g v a rio u s E n g lis h m u s e u m s , P e ric le u n e x p e c te d ly w ith d re w to p riv a te life . It w a s 1 9 6 5 . S ta rtin g fro m th e F iftie s h e h a d s e t tle d withhiswifeOrsolinaKlaingutiintheanarchicheavenofMonteVerità,thewel-known“hilofutopia”.ItisanisolatedareainthewoodlandintheCantonofTicinoabove AsconawhichfacesthenorthernextremityofLakeMaggiore.Inthisparticularplacehecariedonpainting,studyingandmeditatingonhisown.
Afterhisemergencefrom theoblivion,todayLuigiPericleistheprotagonistofaremarkablecriticalandphilologicalrecovery.Theprojectofstudies,restoration, conservationandcataloguingofhisartisticheritageissafeguardedbytheAssociation“ArchivioLuigiPericle”.Inthesetingofthesix-monthVeniceArtBiennaletheywil bepromotingthisexhibitionasthefirststepofamultifacetedprocesofvalorization.Incombinationwiththescientificcatalogue(editedbySilvanaEditoriale),this exhibitionproposes50artworksincludingpaintingsoncanvasandmasonite,besidesinkdrawingsonpaperfrom theSixtiesandSeventies.Thelaterarisefrom the artist’sunwearyingstudyontheposibilitiesofpainting.Heconsideredspontaneoussignasamanifestationofinnerforcesandaform ofvisionaryresearchcariedout throughthemosthiddenlevelsofconsciousnes.
ThefurnituredesignedbythegreatarchitectCarloScarpa-whogiveshisnametotheexhibitionareaonthegroundfloor-wilbehostingoriginaldocuments,excerpts, handwritennotes,analysisofexercisesanddiarypages,alongwithothergraphicworkswhicharemeanttoexprestheversatilepersonalityofthisman,anartistanda thinker,tothepublic.
Asapainter,anilustrator,ascholarandanal-aroundintelectual,LuigiPericlewasinfluencedbytheosophyandesotericdoctrinesandtookpartintheculturaldebate encouragedbytheseleaningsoverthecentury.PericlebreathedthemysticairofMonteVeritàwhich,from thedawnofthe1900s,usedtohosttherenownedcommunity foundedin1900byIdaHofmannandHeinrichOedenkovenabovetheHilofUtopia,wheretheEuropean“counter-culture”ofthetimehadsetled.Thisisexactlywhere, startingfrom theThirties,theintelectualadventureoftheEranos’meetingstookshape:theseencounterswerepromotedbyCarlGustavJung(whoseRedBookhas recentlybeenrediscoveredandexhibitedattheVeniceArtBiennalein2013)andbytheDutchtheosophistandpainterOlgaFroebe-Kapteyn.
Periclewasaversatilemanwiththousandsofinterests:itisactualydifficulttoclasifyhisproductionsinceherevealedhimselftobebothaprofesionalartistanda talentedcartoonist.Infact,in1951heinventedMaxthemarmot,theprotagonistofthewel-knownwordlescomicstrip.Apparentlyitwasmeanttobecomepopularnot onlyinEurope,butalsointheStatesandeveninJapan.Thankstohisprofessionasanilustrator,LuigiPericleachievedinternationalfameandhisworkswerepublished bytheNYeditorMacmilanandappearedinnewspaperssuchasthe“WashingtonPost”,the“HeraldTribune”andinmagazinessuchas“Punch”.
Concurentlytothis“pop”professiona“secondlife”forthepainterofabstract-informalartarose.Pericleworkedobsesivelyondevelopingthemostpeculiartechniques, e x p e rim e n tin g m a te ria ls a n d p u t tin g h is s p iritu a l n e e d s fi rs t ra th e r th a n u s in g a p a in tin g s ty le a s p a rt o f h is e v e ry d a y ro u tin e . H is o n g o in g re s e a rc h a im e d a t th e representationofshapes,gestures,symbols,views,creatures,doorwaysandparaleluniverseswhichcouldexpressthereificationoftheinvisibleworldandanabsolute truthexistingbeyondcontingency.
Thevolumesofliterature,philosophy,Egyptianart,theosophy,astrologythatclusteredhislibraryservedtoquenchPericle’sversatilethirstforknowledge,themiraculous sourceofaninspirationthatwasnotconfinedtopaintingbut,rather,entrustedthousandsofdocumentsthatunveilaplethoraofhoroscopes,ufologyesays,notebooks richwithquotesandJapaneseideograms,cosmicsymbols,Chinesemedicineandhomeopathicrecipes.“Art”,quotingPericle,“reflectsman’sspiritualinclinationandis likeaninstrumentendowedwithclairvoyance;artalwayshasthepresentmentoffutureevents.”
Hisimagerywasthusenlivenedwithhypnoticfigures,visionaryscenarios,alienworlds,stargatesopentowardsmechaniccivilizations.Amagnificentobsesionthatled him farfrom ‘paintingasmerepainting’andturnedhim intoafreethinkerandalsotheauthorofasciencefictionnovelsetinapost-atomicworld.Thisunpublished typewritenworkhasemergedtodayalongwithpaintingsdevotedtoavarietyoftopicsandexhibitedaccordingtoatwenty-yearexcursusdividedintoseriesofthemes: pyramidsandclocks(MarchofTime),doorways(MatriDei),moons,golems,archangels,monsters(WoodDemonoDerHüterDerSchwele).Thelatercalstomind FranciscoGoya’sconceptof“sleepofreason”thathowever,triggersnew posibilitiestolookintotheunknown.
TheexhibitionpromotedbytheAsconaAsociation“ArchivioLuigiPericle”aimsatsheddinglightonanextraordinarilyvaluableauthorwhobelongstothatcategoryof artists-justtorecalHilmaafKlint,whoseworkwaspresentedattheVeniceBiennalein2013-whopreferedtolettheirworkspeakonlyaftertheirdeath,nevertheles impresingitwithanenergythatwouldhavedeservedposthumousrediscovery.AfterLuigiPericle'sdeathwhodiedwithoutleavinganyheirsin2001,hishomein Asconaremainedclosedforfifteenyearsuntil2016.
Itwasthenpurchasedbynew ownerswhoshowedaprofoundsensitivitytothefascinationofitsgloriouspast.Thishouserevealedanimmenseheritageofworksand writingsthatremainedburiedforyears;asum oftheuniversalthoughtthatPericlehadcataloguedwithmonasticrigourandwhichhadremainedcrystalizedintactuntil today.
ThisexhibitioniscuratedbytheartcriticandhistorianChiaraGatiincolaborationwithMarcoPasifrom theUniversityinAmsterdam (UvA)andtheEuropeanAssociation fortheStudyofReligions(EASR),MicheleTavolafrom theGaleriesofVeniceAcademyandLucaBochichio,directoroftheJornHomeMuseum ofAlbisola,AdAC UniversityofGenoa.Theprojectisrunundertheauspicesof,amongothers,theStateCounciloftheRepublicandCantonofTicino,CultureandUniversityStudyDivision (DECS),SwissConfederation,theConsulateGeneralofSwitzerlandinMilan,MonteVeritàFoundationofAsconaandEranosFoundationofAscona.Thecatalogueis publishedbySilvanaEditorialepublishers.
“Spiritualityinartistimeless. Itescapeshumantransience;itisneveroldandnevernew. Itis,becauseitisesential;orrather,itistheesentialwaytoexpressTruth. Theesentialisnotwhatcomesfrom theartist,butthroughtheartist”.
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