Press Release
Pablo Mesa Capella
“Deus ex
machina” (setting up)
Installation, interactive sculpture
Curated by Stella Bottai
Opening Thursday November 14th 2013, 6 pm
November 14th – December 20th 2013
LaStellina ArteContemporanea is pleased to announce
the exhibition “Deus ex machina” (setting
up) by Pablo Mesa Capella
(Málaga , 1982).
Interjecting on the space of the gallery with an
interactive sculpture, the Spanish young artist examines the capacity of the
religions to answer the demands of the contemporary people through a reflection
on their symbols.
The Cross and the half-moon – Christianity and Islam –
are presented here as two blocks of iron fixed on top of the same basis. The
rust is formed day after day on the surface of the sculpture and only the
intervention of the public can stop its degradation.
A metaphor for the corrosion of values which over
the years has worked on our lives, calling into question the man’s dialogue with religion
and spirituality. If, as in Greek theater, one expects the intervention of a deus ex machina to resolve the
situation, the work shown here reverses the expectation, and we are in the
presence of a passive artifact scenic, that is no longer able to surprise. It
will be the same visitor to take care of development of the sculpture , giving
again to the symbols their evocative nature.
“Deus ex machina” (setting up) is a work that invites participation and dialogue through
interaction with visitors, called personally to operate a small but symbolic change.
Pablo Mesa Capella was born in Málaga
(Spain) in 1982. After a degree in Directing and Drama first, and in Audiovisual Communication then, he
directs shows and artistic performances curating also the set design. These
early years shaped his aesthetics conception on visual art and installations,
earning several awards in the MálagaCrea competition. Since 2010 lives and
works in Rome, where he continues his artistic research. In 2012 he exhibited
at the Festival of Contemporary Art Seminaria
Sogninterra (Maranola, Formia) and MarteLive
at the Forte Portuense (Rome). The same year he participated to the project Spam! Artists’s postcards at Pastificio Lab
(Pastificio Cerere, Rome). In June 2013 the project Cartes de visite. Sensitive
material at the Pastificio Cerere in Rome, curated by sguardo contemporaneo
(18.06 - 19.07.2013), earned him the attention of the public and the press.
ArtGallery Prize finalist (2013, Milan), his works will be on display within
the collective Wunderkammer at the Academy
of Belgium in Rome (curated by Antonio Nardone in collaboration with EMMEOTTO
and Paola Cardano Arte Contemporanea (November 2013).
His installations starts from theatrical experience to
develop through visual arts an emotional and synaesthetic involvement of the
public, in all its nuances and complexity.
pablomesacapella.blogspot.it
Stella Bottai is art critic and
curator. Educated in Italy,
France and Finland, she achieved her PhD in Contemporary Art at La Sapienza University
of Rome. In charge of the Visual Art section of the website Cultfinlandia.it, she
recently curated the Italian première of the video La vie en rose by Spanish artist Cristina Nuñez, Galleria Effearte (2013, Milan) and co-curated the
multimedia exhibition Art Women, Centro Trevi (2012-2013, Bolzano).
Interested in art history and multimedia applications, she was jury member at
the Prix Mobius Nordica, art and new technologies festival in Northern Europe.
www.mariastellabottai.com
Follow the exhibition and watch your intervention at deusexmachina-messa-a-punto.blogspot.it
EXHIBITION
INFORMATION
Pablo
Mesa Capella
“Deus
ex machina” (setting up). Installation, interactive sculpture.
Curated by Stella Bottai
Opening November 14th 2013, 6 pm
Dates : November 14th – December 20th 2013
LaStellina
ArteContemporanea
Via Braccio da Montone, 93 - 00176 ROME
Tel. +39 334 2906204
email: lastellina05@gmail.com
Tel. +39 334 2906204
email: lastellina05@gmail.com
www.lastellinaartecontemporanea.com
Opening hours: Monday – Friday 5,30 pm – 8 pm and by
appointment, free entrance