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Simon Starling

<p>A–A’, B–B’ has at its core the collision of two very different objects. The first of these being a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770) titled The Finding of Moses and the second, a dark blue Fiat 125S. The connection between these two, seemingly unrelated, objects is the former Fiat boss, Giovanni ‘Gianni’ Agnelli. In the 19th century Tiepolo’s painting was cut in two – the larger part of the truncated painting found its way into the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh and the smaller part, now titled A Halberdier in a Landscape became part of the collection of Giovanni and Marella Agnelli, Turin. Agnelli’s love for Tiepolo’s flamboyantly regal painting, a courtly masquerade, might seem to fit with his lavish lifestyle but perhaps seems less in keeping with his love for a humble blue Fiat 125 S – a car he drove 125,000 km during the 70’s and 80’s. For A–A’, B–B’ the brutal logic (and indeed particular proportions) of the cut made in the Tiepolo painting was applied to just such a vintage Fiat 125 S – forcing the two objects into a newly dynamic relationship in which ideas of dressing-up and dressing-down are embodied.<br /><br />Simon Starling has been revisiting the history of forms and objects for over two decades. Often taking up key moments in the history of modernism, Starling creates installations, films, photographs and sculptures which unearth often unacknowledged connections or migrations across space and time. His works are based on acts of transformation through movement and in situ installations.</p>

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The Modern Institute

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