GIANNI PETTENA Natural architecture

With works by
Gianni Pettena

Curated by
Christiane Rekade

From 22 July -24 September 2017 Merano Arte will host two exhibitions: The American artist Helen Mirra (born 1970 in Rochester, New York, lives in northern California) and Gianni Pettena (born 1940 in Bolzano, lives in Florence).

Although they work quite differently they have one discussion in common: the landscapeand its interpretation.  Both exhibitions  show a connection between the landscape in the  Western United States and South Tyrol.

Gianni Pettena is co-founder and one of the most important representatives of  the„radical Architecture“ of the seventies. Influenced by Conceptual Art and Land Art he develops his installations, photos, drawings and projects while watching nature and landscape and in his works quite often there are no borders between architecture and art.

Although Gianni Pettena left Bolzano as a young adult, South Tyrol’s landscape is fundamental for his artistic work and his comprehension of architecture. This exhibition shows us this constant relationship with the landscape of his native place.

Pettena is  convinced that architecture is already present in nature and the human body and this conviction we can notice in  his works. So he titles one of his fundamental photos series:  About non-conscious architecture (1972/1973). It is a collection of black and white photos, which Pettena made during his stay in the United States. They describe Pettena’s engagement with natural materials and forms. Within the exhibition in Meran the series  creates a dialogue between the two important cultural landscapes, where Gianni Pettena lived.

In his own work he analyses the innovative forms of contemporary art whereas  as historian and art critic he is curating international architectural exhibitions (e.g. „Radicals. Architettura e Design 1960-1975“Venice architectural Biennial, 1966 or „Radical Design“ Casa Masaccio, San Giovanni Valdarno, 2004). Gianni Pettena is as an artist as well as a theorist in architecture a very important reference also for young designers, artists and architects.