Monica Bonvicini explores through her artistic practice the interconnections between architecture, power, gender and space. Her works conduct a critical inquiry into the meaning of artistic creation, the complexity and multiple interpretations of language, and the limits and possibilities associated with the notion of freedom. Among the most important artists of her generation, she boasts a path studded with great awards and prestigious collaborations. Winner of the Preis der Nationalgalerie für junge Kunst, die Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2005) and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (1999), among others. Some of her public works are permanently installed at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, on the Bjørvika waterfront, in front of the Den Norske opera & Ballet House in Oslo, and at the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art in Bremen. Since 2017 she has held the chair of Sculpture at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
Monica Bonvicini, “And Rose”, detail, installation view at San Carlo Cremona, Cremona, Italy, 2024, galvanized steel rings, chain links and chains, 9 x 11 meters. Courtesy the artist. Photo credit: Form Group © Monica Bonvicini and VG Bild-Kunst/SIAE
We had the pleasure of interviewing her on the occasion of her latest solo exhibition “And Rose” at the former church of San Carlo in Cremona, open until January 12, 2025. Here, inserted into the highest vault of the church, Bonvicini has installed three works from the “Chain-Swings” series. These performative sculptures are entirely made of galvanized steel chains and, like real swings, are anchored to the side walls of the nave. Starting from the bottom, they overlap one another and, developing upwards, they occupy the entire volume of the vault. Like precious drapes, they fall on the spectator who is invited to interact with the installation in an ambiguous relationship between play and submission.
Rita Meschiari: What were your first feelings when visiting the church of San Carlo and what were the critical points (if any) in designing a site-specific work for this space?
Monica Bonvicini: The church of San Carlo has perfect proportions, and I believe this is always the most important element in any space. Regardless of its size, shape and colors, it was more the history of exhibitions there, a series of exhibitions and artists confirming a serious program, rich in conceptual and visual elements that convinced me to develop a project in that space.
Monica Bonvicini, “And Rose”, installation view at San Carlo Cremona, Cremona, Italy, 2024, galvanized steel rings, chain links and chains, 9 x 11 meters. Courtesy the artist. Photo credit: Form Group © Monica Bonvicini and VG Bild-Kunst/SIAE
How is this exhibition to be seen as a new step in the research behind the “Chain-swings” series?
“And Rose” is a site-specific installation. I was interested in making maximum use of the space, both in height and depth. The three “Chain-Swings” were entirely produced there, which I think is increasingly important, and for the first time they are presented one on top of the other, with minimal fractions of disordered alignment, creating almost a total embrace of the space. A structural embrace, in order to achieve the desired, soft shapes of the chain swings. It is in fact a taking of the space of about 280 cubic meters, treated in the end almost only by the chains that cross the space in all directions to fix the works. For the first time, the chains were chromed in gold, black and silver. “And Rose” confronts a place that carries with it a symbolic aspect related to power, which is different from the kind of power dynamics that my work has always related to; it allows for the transformation of something that was once sacred and acts on it in a subversive and desecrating way, while still respecting its spirituality.
Monica Bonvicini, “And Rose”, installation view at San Carlo Cremona, Cremona, Italy, 2024, galvanized steel rings, chain links and chains, 9 x 11 meters. Courtesy the artist. Photo credit: Form Group © Monica Bonvicini and VG Bild-Kunst/SIAE
In your work, the relationship between viewer and work is fundamental. How does this develop within the “And Rose” exhibition? How do you expect the audience to interact with the works?
For many of my works the active participation of the audience is desired; in fact, often my sculptures can be physically used by the audience. Making installations for me means developing a choreography within which the viewers are the real protagonists, and this is true for “And Rose.” It is no coincidence, in fact, that the sculptures are located right in the highest vault of the church, and it is no coincidence that one has to cross almost the entire nave to reach them. It is a precise path of approach and pre-taste of the work. The tactile and sonic relationship with the work then completes the installation: the chains can be touched and if moved they play a gentle jingle.
Rita Meschiari
Info:
Monica Bonvicini. “AND ROSE”
05/10/2024 – 12/01/2025
Chiesa San Carlo e San Donnino
Via Stefano Leonida Bissolati, 33, Cremona
By appointment only: info@sancarlocremona.com
www.sancarlocremona.com
Rita Meschiari (Modena, 1994) graduated in languages in 2019 and then embarked on a training course in the field of art curation, with in-depth studies in contemporary art history and critical writing. Having completed the ICON 2020 curator course, offered by the Modena Arti Visive Foundation, today she deals with the organization of projects relating to contemporary art, with particular attention to the use of video-photographic practices. Among others, she collaborated with ReA! Art Fair and Centrale Festival.
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