Gears: Special Project for Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art

Image courtesy of Savina Gallery.

MICHELE GIANGRANDE feat. MARSLAB
GEARS
September 12 – October 30
URALKHIMMASH
Special project for URAL INDUSTRIAL BIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART

In the course of the 3rd Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, one of the Uralkhimmash plant’s departments will accommodate an exhibition titled “GEARS” by an Italian conceptual artist, Michele Giangrande. The curators and organizers of the project are Sparta Curatorial Agency, MARS Contemporary Art Center and Savina Gallery.

The project, being Giangrande’s debut in Russia, was first shown in Rome as part of celebration of 150 years of Italian Republic unification. The project comprises an installation of giant structures imitating diverse kinds of gears. A romantic symbol of industrialization, gears have gradually become a heraldic meme. Giangrande intensifies it ironically by using hundreds of cardboard boxes to create its image. This choice of material has the special meaning: paper is intrinsically fragile, but with certain treatment, it becomes incredibly enduring. The topic of evanescence of firm structures also receives its support in a light installation by Ildar Yakubov from MARSLAB laboratory of digital art.

By their form, the objects d’art created by the Italian artist correspond immensely to the nature of manufacture of the Uralkhimmash plant: all the devices produced there are cylindrical, with shells assembled from giant “rings” called shell rings.

The exhibition shall be open from September 12 to October 30. There will be excursions to the exhibition on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Please click here to view the full press release.