Rodolfo Aricò’s Scena di Mantova consists of six canvases hanging so as to create a walk-in installation, breaking up elements of a painting into a form that suggests a pediment. The application of color creates an apparent monochrome with vibrant chromatic variations; an ensemble of marks and dots spread out across the surface, heightened by a soft half-light designed by the artist that alters our perception. The architectural element is taken from a study of the façade designed by the Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti for the church of Sant’Andrea in Mantua, Italy. The outcome of a conscious study, Aricò’s installation aims to deprive architectural elements of their function taking them back to their original perfection of form. By combining the concepts of painting and architecture, a new lexicon is created to more aptly describe the flow of time and transformation. Like the wings of a stage set, the pediment vibrates with an evocative monumentality. Scena di Mantova was originally made in 1980 for the solo show ‘Mito e architettura’ (Myth and Architecture) at Casa del Mantegna in Mantua.
