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Elisa Sighicelli

March 12–May 4, 2013
Geneva

Installation view, photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view, photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Installation view Photo by Annick Wetter

Works Exhibited

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Blue Fabric), 2011 Partially backlit C-print mounted on lightbox, 48 13/16 × 48 13/16 × 1 9/16 inches (124 × 124 × 4 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Blue Fabric), 2011

Partially backlit C-print mounted on lightbox, 48 13/16 × 48 13/16 × 1 9/16 inches (124 × 124 × 4 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Tape), 2011 Framed laminated chromogenic print and tape, 23 × 23 × 13/16 inches (58.5 × 58.5 × 2 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Tape), 2011

Framed laminated chromogenic print and tape, 23 × 23 × 13/16 inches (58.5 × 58.5 × 2 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Wall), 2012 Laminated chromogenic print, 22 13/16 × 22 13/16 inches (58 × 58 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Wall), 2012

Laminated chromogenic print, 22 13/16 × 22 13/16 inches (58 × 58 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Punctum), 2012 Laminated chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, nail, 22 1/16 × 22 1/16 inches (56 × 56 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Punctum), 2012

Laminated chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, nail, 22 1/16 × 22 1/16 inches (56 × 56 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Punctum), 2012 (detail) Laminated chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, nail, 22 1/16 × 22 1/16 inches (56 × 56 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Punctum), 2012 (detail)

Laminated chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, nail, 22 1/16 × 22 1/16 inches (56 × 56 cm), edition of 3

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Leningrad at Night), 2012 Wall installation: photograph printed from slide, 39 ⅜ × 63 inches (100 × 160 cm)

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Leningrad at Night), 2012

Wall installation: photograph printed from slide, 39 ⅜ × 63 inches (100 × 160 cm)

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Wood), 2012 Photograph mounted on the same wood photographed, 23 ⅝ × 23 ⅝ × 5 ¾ inches (60 × 60 × 12 cm)

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Wood), 2012

Photograph mounted on the same wood photographed, 23 ⅝ × 23 ⅝ × 5 ¾ inches (60 × 60 × 12 cm)

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Roll), 2011 Laminated chromogenic print attached to the wall, 43 5/16 × 22 13/16 inches (110 × 58 cm)

Elisa Sighicelli, Untitled (Roll), 2011

Laminated chromogenic print attached to the wall, 43 5/16 × 22 13/16 inches (110 × 58 cm)

About

My work is a constant questioning of the medium of photography, of its two-dimensionality, display, and subject matter. I work with the space of the photograph, to find ways to extend the space of representation into the real space of the viewer as well as to show a space beyond the picture plane.
—Elisa Sighicelli

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present recent works by Elisa Sighicelli.

Sighicelli's latest body of work uses light, objects, and singular installation methods to explore the physical qualities of the photograph, expanding the image beyond the two-dimensional picture plane. In Untitled (Tape) (2011), she joins the photograph of a sheet of back-lit paper with a fragment of tape placed on each side with an actual piece of tape, placed directly onto the photographic image, thus creating three distinct spatial planes, wherein two photographic representations merge with the tangible object. In Untitled (Leningrad at Night) (2011) she takes a photograph printed from an old Soviet slide, and artfully folds and installs it in the corner of a room, transforming a banal image into an architectural aspect of its chosen space. The lightbox Untitled (Blue Fabric) (2012) features a swathe of blue fabric, bathed in sunlight from an unseen window. Certain areas of the photograph have been masked by applying black paint to the reverse side of the lightbox, so that the manipulated light creates a glow around the edges of the fabric. Light, used here like a painter's palette, acquires a sculptural quality that unites the second and third dimensions.

The works in the exhibition explore the relationship between representation and reality in diverse ways. Some engage with the idea of trompe l'oeil, while others explore the possibiblity of creating images that balance the concerns of abstraction with the reality of the object photographed. In photography the mechanics of display—mounting, framing—are usually assumed, however Sighicelli proposes a dramatic re-thinking by making the subject matter of the photograph coincide with its display, as in the case of Untitled (Punctum) (2012) and Untitled (Wood) (2012). In Untitled (Puntum), a single nail is used to fasten an image of three brightly colored, intertwined pieces of string to the wall. The nail also gives the illusion of being a part of the photograph; the means by which the photographic string is joined together. Untitled (Wood) (2012) is a photograph of a sheet of wood, mounted on two actual slabs of the same wood Sighicelli photographed, to form a three-dimensional hanging object—here, the display exists as an integral part of the work.

Elisa Sighicelli was born in Turin, Italy in 1968 where she lives and works today. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Exhibitions include "Santiago", Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2000); "No World Without You: Reflection and Identity in New British Art," Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel (2001); Fondation Salomon, Alex, France (2003); "Guardami, la Percezione del Video", Palazzo delle Papesse, Centro Arte Contemporanea, Siena, Italy (2005); Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy (2007); Italian Pavilion at the 53rd Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2009); "Silences Where Things Abandon Themselves", Museum of Comtemporary Art, Zagreb, Republic of Croatia; and "Marking Time," Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (2012).

Gagosian Gallery est heureuse de présenter des œuvres récentes d'Elisa Sighicelli.

Les dernières œuvres de Sighicelli se servent de la lumière, d'objets et des méthodes d'installation singulières pour explorer les qualités physiques de la photographie, en étendant l'image au-delà du plan pictural bidimensionnel. Dans Untitled (Tape) (2011), elle joint la photographie d'une feuille de papier éclairée par derrière, un fragment de bande adhésive placé de chaque côté de celle-ci, avec un véritable morceau de bande adhésive, placé directement sur l'image photographique. Elle crée ainsi trois plans spatiaux dans lesquels deux représentations photographiques s'unissent avec l'objet tangible. Dans Untitled (Leningrad at Night) (2011) Sighicelli prend une photographie imprimée à partir d'une ancienne image soviétique, la plie de façon artistique et l'installe dans le coin d'une pièce, transformant une image banale en un aspect architectural de son espace choisi. Le caisson lumineux Untitled (Blue Fabric) (2012) présente une bande de tissu bleu, baignant dans la lumière du soleil d'une fenêtre invisible. Certaines zones de la photographie ont été masquées en appliquant de la peinture noire au dos du caisson, de sorte à ce que la lumière manipulée crée un halo lumineux autour des bords du tissu. La lumière, utilisée ici telle la palette de couleurs d'un peintre, acquiert une qualité sculpturale qui unit les seconde et troisième dimensions.

Les œuvres présentées dans le cadre de l'exposition explorent la relation entre représentation et réalité de différentes façons. Certaines s'inspirent de l'idée du trompe l'œil alors que d'autres explorent la possibilité de la création d'images mettant en parallèle les préoccupations de l'abstraction avec la réalité de l'objet photographié. En photographie, les mécanismes de presentation—montage, composition—sont habituellement assumés. Toutefois, Sighicelli propose une vision dramatique repensée en accordant le sujet de la photographie avec la présentation de celle-ci, comme dans le cas d'Untitled (Punctum) (2012) et d'Untitled (Wood) (2012). Dans Untitled (Punctum) (2012), un simple clou est utilisé pour accrocher au mur une image à l'aide de trois fils colorés entremêlés. Le clou donne également l'illusion de faire partie intégrante de la photographie, moyen par lequel le fil photographique est attaché. Untitled (Wood) (2012) est une photographie d'une planche en bois, montée sur deux dalles du même bois photographiées par Sighicelli, de sorte à former un objet suspendu tridimmensionnel. La présentation existe ainsi telle une partie intégrante de l'œuvre elle-même.

Elisa Sighicelli est née à Turin en Italie en 1968, où elle vit et travaille aujourd'hui. Elle a suivi des études auprès de la Slade School of Fine Art à Londres. Ses expositions comprennent notamment "Santiago," Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, Espagne (2000); "No World Without You: Reflection and Identity in New British Art," Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israël (2001); Fondation Salomon, Alex, France (2003); "Guardami, la Percezione del Video, Palazzo delle Papesse," Centro Arte Contemporanea, Sienne, Italie (2005); Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italie (2007); Italian Pavilion at the 53rd Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2009); "Silences Where Things Abandon Themselves," Museum of Comtemporary Art, Zagreb, République de Croatie; et "Marking Time," Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australie (2012).