As part of the celebrations designating Pesaro as the Italian Capital of Culture 2024 and within the framework of the 50×50 Capitals Squared project, the Municipality of Cagli and Pesaro Museums have announced the solo exhibition by Giovanni Termini, titled Come la metti sta (How You Place It). Curated by Marcello Smarrelli, the exhibition will take place at Palazzo Tiranni-Castracane in Cagli, a sixteenth-century residence that embodies the city history. Termini has expressed his connection with Pesaro, highlighting how in 2001 one of his early works, Celare l’attesa (Concealing the Waiting), was exhibited in Torrione Martiniano, home to the contemporary art collection. This event marked the beginning of his artistic reflection, guiding his poetry over the years. This exhibition is made possible thanks to the support of Cariaggi, a cashmere spinner, and Pesaro’s designation as the Italian Capital of Culture, in addition to the support of the Municipality. This event also pays tribute to Eliseo Mattiacci‘s hometown.

Giovanni Termini, “Cordone”, 2021, foto di Michele Alberto Sereni, courtesy dell’artista

In the main hall, two works are displayed. The artist demonstrates his ability to decontextualize everyday objects, giving them a change of meaning. Hully Gully represents a scaffold, a tool not considered important because it is part of construction processes. Termini reflects on its role, covering it with black PVC used in goods transportation. The artist says: «There are a series of inputs that come to me and that I throw into the work, when I go to define the work I clean, subtract, strip away their superfluousness». La specularità delle divergenze (The Specularity of Divergences) are platforms that facilitate access to spaces: works that reflect not only on space but also on the idea of the suspension of time.

Giovanni Termini, “Hully Gully”, 2022, “La specularità delle divergenze” (part.) 2022, foto di Michele Alberto Sereni, courtesy dell’artista

L’equilibrio dell’incongruo (The Equilibrium of the Incongruous) presents itself as a bold statement that, despite its ambitions, materializes into a simple artistic expression. The act of placing a clay threshold on two easels may appear as a banal gesture, devoid of conceptual depth. However, it is in the precariousness of the embarked plane that a deviant departure from the harmony and solidity found in conventional architecture manifests itself. This contrast further layers the tension in the surrounding environment. Through this installation, the artist highlights an apparent stability that turns out to be anything but solid. In Dialogo costruttivo (Constructive Dialogue), on the other hand, a vintage chair is nested in the center of a table with turquoise hues, evoking academic. In this same plane, a swivel chair is inserted, suggesting a reversal of hierarchies, an overturning of power, and a new beginning for dialogue and collaboration. All this represents the artist’s personal interpretation of the work, which lends itself to multiple readings. Furthermore, the work is conceived as a tribute to the artist Mattiacci, whose catalog is discreetly inserted within the installation.

Giovanni Termini, “La misura di una distanza”, 2022-23, foto di Michele Alberto Sereni, courtesy dell’artista

Like imposing monoliths, the work Come la metti sta whispers ancient narratives of effort and perseverance, of interrupted movements. These containers, with their wheels turned to the sky, embody a manifesto of freedom in apparent stillness, challenging the tyranny of time. Born from the collaboration with the company Cariaggi, the artist explored the various processing processes, from raw material to the spinning of the bobbins, which are then placed in stable containers. Cashmere yarn, fragile and precious, carries with it poetic meanings related to time and space, while the work of the bobbin, while provoking deep reflections, remains shrouded in the artist’s silence. Termini’s works appear as bold intrusions. In this exhibition, common objects find a new life, torn from their function to be exhibited in a place so dear to the artist. With a touch of transgression and a play of perspectives, contemporary art merges with the past, offering viewers an experience that challenges expectations and celebrates the beauty of the incongruous.

Info:

Giovanni Termini. Come la metti sta
13/04 – 30/06/2024
curated by Marcello Smarrelli
Palazzo Tiranni-Castracane
via Purgotti 51, 61043 Cagli (PU)

Lukrecija A.M. Bieliauskaite

Born in 1999. She falls in love with art by looking at her mother’s paint. She’s studying History of Art at the Ca’ Foscari University (Venice) and in the meantime divulges online videos of art pills. She deals with contemporary art as a critic, curator and artist.