Sanlorenzo to Partner with Arcangelo Sassolino at Art Basel in Basel 2022

Sanlorenzo recently returned to Basel to take part in Art Basel, the leading international fair for modern and contemporary art. This popular event was held from 16-19 June. Sanlorenzo has been host partner of the event since 2018, and has used the opportunity to present a unique, customised project in collaboration with an international contemporary artist.

At Art Basel in Basel 2022, Sanlorenzo presented the work ‘Tempo Piegato’ by Arcangelo Sassolino, one of Italy’s leading contemporary artists. Sassolino recently represented Malta at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2022 with the immersive installation Diplomazija astuta. The project presented in Basel was conceived especially for Sanlorenzo, and is curated by Flash Art, the first and most important contemporary art magazine in Europe.

Tension, constriction, fragility, and performativity of matter are the axioms from which ‘Tempo Piegato’ takes shape, a work aimed at probing the ultimate limit of resistance and, more generally, of the possibilities of the future. The sheet of glass is in fact caught in the palpitation that precedes the imminent destruction of the material, at the moment of its maximum stress, thus manifesting a state of suspension and imponderability. It is precisely in this being-in-conflict between two forces that its condition of existence is translated. The contradiction is accepted and in this way an ecological thought is established that is capable of overcoming the dichotomies of strength and fragility, destruction, and resistance. The work thus meets Sanlorenzo’s vision: a perfect synthesis of contemporary beauty, design, and advanced technology.

Arcangelo Sassolino’s visual vocabulary is at once ethological and mechanised, poetic and menacing, and pushes materials beyond their physical limits to demonstrate Modernism’s process of becoming and non-becoming.

“I wonder what is the point of still producing forms: what is the point of working on sculpture? I build machines and devices with the intention of revealing the potential that is inherent in the nature of each material,” says Sassolino.

His kinetic sculptures employ industrial materials and technologies to study the harrowing and destructive consequences of contemporary society, which in its self-sustaining shuns empathy and solidarity. Bringing together the experience of industrial and mechanical engineers, Sassolino’s works engage the viewer in the tension and anticipation inherent in the visceral aesthetic language of his sculptures.

The artist works with Galleria Continua, San Gimigniano; Les Moulins, Beijing, Havana, Rome, Sao Paulo, and Paris; Galleria dello Scudo, Verona; A Arte Invernizzi, Milan.

Sanlorenzo embodies unceasing future-oriented research, sophisticated synthesis of design, technology and engineering, a poetic balance between aesthetics and technology, where man meets nature in the freedom of the sea and the elements. These are the foundations for the creation of Sanlorenzo Arts, an active and interactive container of projects, linked to the world of art and design, which addresses issues such as sustainability, the environment, technology, nature, the sea and, above all, mankind in original and resourceful ways, thanks to the sensitivity of artists, designers, architects, and creative people. Sanlorenzo Arts acts as a true producer of culture and design, to conceive, support and spread these values around the world.

For enquiries regarding Sanlorenzo, please contact us at sanlorenzo@simpsonmarine.com