RISO followed MACRO. After the open call of S.A.C.S., Sergio Zavattieri won the residence at the Roman museum, and the work produced went to the International Photography Festival
Artribune, Palermo, June 21, 2013
Continuing the activities of the resurrected S.A.C.S. archive, the first cell to be reactivated by the still semi-dormant Riso Museum. The process of recovery and revival proved to be difficult after the blackout lasting from January to December 2012, but Contemporary Art in Sicily, which offers Sicilian artists opportunities for research, residence and promotion of their work, lead to the scoring of a few goals. The first phase of the project Landscape with Artist, with the laboratory of ideas led by Nari Ward and hosted in the Antonello Colonna estate, in Labico, the Scientific Committee which curated the S.A.C.S. activities for 2013 (Laura Barreca, Daniela Bigi, Lorenzo Bruni, Valentina Bruschi, Giovanni Iovane, Cristiana Perrella) awarded, together with Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Marco Delogu, a residency at the MACRO, with adjoining participation in the following International Festival of Photography in Rome.
The winner was – by unanimous vote – Sergio Zavattieri (Palermo, 1970), one of the 83 artists currently present in the database, including those who had put forward their candidature in response to the open call launched by Riso. Three finalists were selected by the Committee: Zavattieri alongside Federico Baronello and Sandro Scalia.
This victory came about as the result of a project inspired by the landscapes of the Roman countryside and the history of photography: a “an intelligent, courageous proposal, full of suggestions,” which for a classic theme such as that of landscapes uses “an unprecedented mode of installation able to sollicit the active intervention of the spectator and involve him on multiple levels “.
Vintage images in the background, ateliers of old photographers, the first analogue units and those scenic windows that framed the subjects posing “in the second half of the 1800s – the artist explains -” the photographic studio portrait was almost always realized using a hand-painted cloth background, which often represented a recognizable pastoral landscape, which is also silent and timeless “. The same silence that some scenic views and certain cinematic memories share.
Zavattieri had 3,000 Euros for the production of a work, to be carried out during his stay in a studio apartment at the MACRO, and then to be exposed at the festival directed by Delogu. A work that will, eventually, be added to the Riso Museum collection.
This opportunity was also taken by the new director, Sergio Aguglia, which highlights the spirit and methods of the new course of direction: “The project launched by Riso in collaboration with Macro in Rome and with an important International Festival represents one of the excellent ways that this direction, in continuity with the original formula of the Riso project supports enthusiastically. The idea to be pursued is that of a museum that is open to exchanges with other important cultural institues and events, to be thought of as a place of production and research “. A step forward, linking back to the abruptly ended discourse a year and a half ago. The next step? Another open call for Sicilian artists in the archives: residence with exhibition, this time to the Dena Foundation in Paris.