Page 116 - Art Review

Luciano Fabro

Simon Lee Gallery, London 30 November – 11 January

It’s hard to imagine a more rudimentary, more however, stem from a prior, pre-arte povera The centrepiece of the exhibition, though,
starkly simple sculptural form than Luciano phase (though all were remade by Fabro during its most enjoyably complex exploration
Fabro’s Squadra (Square, 1965–2001). A thin steel the last decade of his life), and are more directly of the act of looking, is a combination of two
rod, about a metre-and-a-half long, juts perpen- concerned with phenomenological matters, Vetri and one Metalli, which Fabro originally
dicularly out from the gallery wall, supporting with the here and now of the gallery space. brought together as an installation in 1992.
at its outward end a second, identical rod, The works come in two sorts: Metalli (metal Tubo da mettere tra i fiori (Tube to Place Among
positioned upright so as to almost reach the works) and Vetri (glass works). The former group Flowers, 1963–2001) consists of a dense arrange-
gallery ceiling. Together, the two segments consists of rather spare-looking, rod-based ment of pot plants covering the floor, whose
look like a kind of elemental line drawing pieces, including Squadra and also a companion lush foliage semiconceals a horizontal pole
in space – like, indeed, two sides of a square, piece, Ruota (Wheel, 1964–2001), in which another running the display’s length. At one end of
or a diagrammatic representation of a right angle. wall-anchored armature supports a hoop whose this greenery is Tutto trasparente (All Transparent,
Except that, actually, the arrangement isn’t circumference is of equal length, the horizontal 1965–2007), a rectangle of transparent glass
precisely rectilinear, because the structure sags element again bending slightly under the load. held aloft on a metal stand – so that what’s
slightly under its own weight, the vertical rod But other Metalli constructions are less the ironically being presented is the opportunity
producing a downward torque in the horizontal result of physical forces than they are deliber- to look past the pane, to consider instead
one – that’s the reason the topmost point doesn’t ately crafted – such as the vast, freestanding the garden scene beyond. At the other end,
quite touch the ceiling as it otherwise would. Croce (Cross, 1965–2001), whose four vertices are Mezzo specchiato mezzo trasparente (Half Mirrored
And so the work, rather than being about purity fractionally misaligned to each other; or Asta Half Transparent, 1965–2007) is the same setup,
of form, ultimately relates to an opposite (Pole, 1965–2001), a long, pointed pole appar- except with half the glass surface reflecting
notion – the fallibility of matter and the way ently suspended straight from the ceiling, additionally what’s behind the viewer.
that idealisations have a tendency to become but which actually deviates from true verticality Tellingly, the panes are in landscape format,
warped or distorted when materially realised. by a single, barely perceptible, degree. And implicitly invoking the history of framing
Fabro would go on to expand upon this questions of perception are similarly at the views of nature – of nature, that is, being
theme with what are probably his best-known heart of the Vetri pieces. Buco (Hole, 1963–2005), regulated by the suzerainty of the gaze,
works, his large, sculptural reliefs of the Italian for instance, is an upright sheet of glass quite as much as through the domestication
map produced in gold, bronze, even leather decorated with a transparent, latticework of plants. At the same time, though, the long
– sumptuous-looking pieces that were made pattern, while the background areas remain sag of the central steel pole reminds us that,
under the auspices of the arte povera movement, mirrored – so that looking simultaneously at ultimately, the determination of natural
with its emphasis on the associative poetry and through it creates a dissonant, discombobu- forces remains something beyond our control.
of materials. The works in the current show, lating effect. Gabriel Coxhead

Luciano Fabro, 2017 (installation view). Photo: Todd-White Art Photography.
Courtesy the Archivio Luciano e Carla Fabro and Simon Lee Gallery, London, New York & Hong Kong

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