The Young Faint Sun

The title of the exhibition is inspired by a complex scientific theory with an uncommon poetic name: the paradox of the Young Faint Sun. According to this theory the stars coeval to the Sun are increasing their intensity more and more but there is no evidence of the Sun doing the same. Nowadays the Sun radiates less and less light than it is supposed to do, but we are not even aware of this penumbra to which we are used to.

The chandelier (200 x 300 cm approx.) by Andrea Grotto (1989) clearly represents this concept. Its particular “faint light” fosters the ability of the spectator to enact an interpretative vision. The chandelier, which has been created with recycled materials like paper and wood, is the interpretative knot of the entire exhibition because it puts all the artworks in relation with each other creating a real living room. There are the images  (oil on paper) painted by Giulia Maria Belli (1989) hanging on the walls.

This series is composed by more than 500 monotypes, or unique/single works, that act as everyday diary pages, broken up and recomposed to recreate a global overview of the work. Every single paper is a note on the personal life of the artist. The weak light of the room and the unfocused details of the images make the interpretation ambiguous but also very personal. Like when we enter in a dark room our eyes gradually adapt to it, only at a second time we start recognizing details that initially we only imagined. Affecting the memory and overlapping images with memories, it is like adding our own graffiti to those already made by others, with the cutter indelibly on a school desk. This is exactly the work of Marco Gobbi (1985).

His sculptures are inspired to an Enrique Villa-Matas book, in which the main character Clément Cadou strongly desires to become a writer but his dream goes into pieces when his parents invite for dinner the famous polish writer Wiltod Gombrowic. Clément is so impressed to see him that he can’t even say a word and he starts feeling as a piece of furniture of their living room. Marco Gobbi’s engravings on wood are his (self) portraits. The scratches on furniture, the vision of a blurred image are forms of stratification that will increase the overall concept.
Like a drawing done by many hands changes meaning without loosing his past, in the same way Cristiano Menchini’s (1986) drawings come to light. He investigates the possible graphical evolution of old geographical maps covering them with vegetation-inspired drawings in china ink. The spectator gives meaning, by how much the artworks are illuminated. As Samuel Beckett says, “the Sun shines, it has no other option, nothing new”.

GIULIA MARIA BELLI | SHORT BIO

Born in Udine, 28th February 1989. She has studied and graduated in Painting at Accademia delle Belle Arti in Venice. Actually she works and live in Venice. In 2013/2014 she has participated at:

- Exhibition Collezione Fondazione Malutta, Santa Marta, Venezia

- Opening Bouquet Magazine, project Moss It Up!, Lugano, Switzerland

- Group exhibition of young artists at Bevilacqua La Masa, Venezia

- Exhibition Scampoli, galleria Caos, Venezia

- Exhibition Testosterone, curated by Alberto Condotta, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.

- Winner of Memento mori competition of Bouquet Magazine

- Fondamenta 2.0, curated by Studio Fludd, Venezia

MARCO GOBBI | SHORT BIO

Born in Brescia, 18th August 1985. He has studied and graduated at Accademia delle Belle Arti in Venice. Actually he works and live in Venice. In 2013/2014 he has participated at:

- Atelier at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa for the project How we dwell (make your own residence) with Cristiano Menchini, Andrea Grotto and Adriano Valeri

- Se di-segno, exhibition  curated by Sergia Avveduti and Irene Guzman in collaboration with Francesco Calzolari, Gino Gianuizzi and Anteo Radovan, Padiglione Esprit Nouveau, Bologna. 

- 96ma Colletiva, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venezia

- Il Crepaccio/ Da Venezia a Porta Venezia, group exhibition curated by Caroline Corbetta, Il Crepaccio, Milano

- Padiglione Crepaccio at yoox.com, group exhibition curated by Caroline Corbetta, Ca' Soranzo, Venezia

- La Materia, Premio Stonefly ”cammina con l’arte 2013” (progetto How We Dwell), group exhibition curated by Marco Tagliafierro, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Palazzetto Tito, Venezia

ANDREA GROTTO | SHORT BIO

Born in Schio, 12th February 1989. He has studied and graduated in Painting at Accademia delle Belle Arti in Venice. Actually he works and live in Venice. In 2013/2014 he has participated at:

- Atelier at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa for the project How we dwell (make your own residence) with Cristiano Menchini, Marco Gobbi and Adriano Valeri.

-Dolomiti Contemporanee, Casso (PN).

- Final exhibition, Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Galleria di Piazza San Marco, with How we dwell (make your own residence) curated by Rachele D’Osualdo .

- La Materia. Premio Stonefly Cammina con l’arte, group exhibition curated by Marco Tagliafierro, with  How we Dwell (make your own residence), at Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Palazzetto Tito, Venezia.

- La legrosega panduda, DC. Dolomiti Contemporanee. Installation.

- Dolomiti Contemporanee. roccedimenti, fatte, non finite, le nature contemporanee. Casso (PN). Installation titled “Didn't you know stones can fly?”. Exhibition curated by Gianluca D'incà Levis and Guido Bartorelli.

CRISTIANO MENCHINI | SHORT BIO

Born in Viareggio, 14th August 1986. He has graduated in Planning and Restoration of Stone Woks at Istituto Statale d’Arte Felice Palma, in Massa. He has graduated in Painting at Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. Actually he works and live in Venice. In 2013/2014 he has participated at:

- Final exhibition, Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venezia with How we Dwell (make your own residence) curated by Rachele D’Osualdo 2013

- 97° Collettiva giovani Artisti, Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Gallerie Piazza San Marco,Venezia

- La Materia. Premio Stonefly Cammina con l’arte, group exhibition, curated by Marco Tagliafierro, with  How we Dwell (make your own residence), at Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Palazzetto Tito, Venezia

- Il Crepaccio: Da Venezia a Porta Venezia, group exhibition curated by Caroline Corbetta, Milano