Thomas Brambilla Gallery
Bergamo
Italy (IT)
2014
Sniffinglue
For his first solo exhibition, Erik Saglia emphasizes and restructures the implications of the “modernist grid” by replicating it with adhesive tape perfectly laid in orthogonal lines. To place the tape in a precise and rigorous way, the body is submitted to the discipline of repeating the same gesture over and over again. This contrasts with the free aggregation of the spots that lay below the tape.
The result is a cream-colored monochrome surface that incorporates all the overlays. A flat layer of transparent epoxy resin on top holds everything together, makes the surface shine, and highlights the tape’s transparency. The use of materials – spray paint, tape, and resin – seek to renew the concept of the surface itself, removing every biographical and pop aspect from it.
Saglia’s work is therefore reconnected to the Spatialist research by Lucio Fontana and the lesson of Alighiero Boetti with his ability to use the “modernist grid” to create works that mesmerize imagination and creativity. A fluid painting leaves freedom to the gesture of the artist. Implementing a mechanical method based on a movement repetition that from the start knows its beginning and its end, like an athletic activity that is repeated with concentration, effort, and dedication. For the exhibition, the artist presents six big dimension panels.
