While the success of the exhibition The Walk of the Line continues. 100 protagonists of contemporary drawing (open until 7 January 2023), set up on the occasion of the 40 years of the Civica Raccolta del Disegno of Salò, the interest in contemporary art and works on paper is confirmed at the MuSa of Salò. Guido Airoldi's personal Anatomie manifeste, curated by Anna Lisa Ghirardi, curator and curator of the Civica Raccolta del Disegno, is hosted in the section of the anatomical collection of Giovan Battista Rini (1795 - 1856), a cozy place on the second floor of the museum , suitable for storing precious anatomical finds. Here bodies are preserved "petrified" by Dr. Rini, who invented a particular technique for preserving human bodies, with the aim of having material to carry out anatomical studies.

Airoldi does not approach these findings with scientific intent, some scholars have already done so who have tried to understand the technique, which remained mysterious in its precise chemical formula, hypothesizing the use of conservative substances based on a mixture of heavy metals, and nor does he investigate as a historian the identity of these individuals, probably brigands and carbonari, for him it is rather a further appointment with the reflection on existence, of which art is a sort of diary. In the concept of anatomy, understood as a science that studies the form and structure of living beings, the artist's intention is to investigate and understand the functioning of life itself. We therefore move from a physiological study to an eschatological research.

Airoldi's immediate attraction to the studies of the surgeon-embalmer, considering his artistic research, is understandable. Thus was born the desire to put his work into dialogue with the Salodian mummies. Near the dissected bodies are

presented collages with vanitas and anatomies, pseudo human skulls and bones, branches reused to simulate a circulatory system, the figure of a large skeletonized equine also stands out, evoking the Triumph of Death. Often in the artist's repertoire there are images of memento mori, as well as an vanitas and anatomical finds. Furthermore, the iconography of Airoldi's death, strongly anchored to the artistic tradition of the past, is absolutely not out of our time, on the contrary, it is perfectly consistent with the current popular revival, often unaware, of these themes; just look at the tattoos that cover the bodies of many people, in which skulls appear in large numbers, often accompanied by flowers. And life entwines with death, in a dance that seems eternal. Airoldi states his intention to < >, so much so that the papers with which he creates his works are taken from circus posters. These, often faded, worn and creased, tell us about shows that entertain the crowd less and less and of a reality that is running out. Among the numerous posters he has torn out over the years, there is no shortage of those containing writings, various notes or stamps of places and days, which tell a social story, but in truth the circus is a pretext for the artist to talk about something else. The precariousness of paper is a metaphor for human fragility. The posters, objects of disfigurement and weathering, evoke a sense of abandonment. The artist is fascinated by the colours, but also by the scars that run through them and he is equally attracted by the mold and rust that have settled on the paper surfaces over time. In particular, he observes, with careful sensitivity, the stains that have given a new look to the papers, transforming them into a sort of livery. The recovered, dissected and cleaned papers are transformed into new epidermis, borders with the rest of the world. The posters, chopped up, are in fact transformed into matter, taking on new forms, new appearances. The artist gives life back to what seems to vanish. Death, after all, is transformation.

Inauguration

Saturday 21 October, 4.00 pm

Laboratory

BESTIAL POSTERS

Sunday 29 October, 3.00 pm

A fantastic bestiary will be created with the paper of circus posters, the raw material of the artist's activity, working on the theme of recovering materials and their recycling.

From 9 years old and up and for the whole family

duration approx. 2 hours.

costs: Euro 10.00 (child + companion. Second companion Euro

5.00).

Reservation required

Exhibition duration

October 21, 2023 — January 7, 2024

Timetables

Jino to October 31st

from Tuesday to Sunday: 10.00 -18.00

from November 1st

from Friday to Sunday: 10.00 - 18.00