I am Magenta, 2018 – ChertLüdde

2018

Medium

Tulipwood, pine, steel, silk, cotton, linen, rayon, acrylic (bulb yarn), polyester (filament yarn)

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-153110

Patrizio Di Massimo’s enlarged tassels are part of a series of sculptures which transforms decorative items into personified elements, elevating the status of an object to a subject that calls for attention and celebration. The work I am magenta is described by the artist as exuding a feminine, matriarchal presence, magenta being the color of universal harmony and emotional balance, the color of the seventh chakra and spiritual enlightenment. The oversized sculpture is handmade using fine materials of silk and linen with a carved wooden center, and meticulously woven in the same fashion a small tassel would be. Di Massimo’s interest in a pre-Modernist aesthetic comes from his study of Italian history, which in itself is fraught with power struggles and colonialism. Modernism in Italy was a period during which fascist architecture grew in popularity; Di Massimo was particularly inspired by Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi’s renunciation of the Modernist aesthetic and his utopian project La Scarzuola, a miniature city built in the spirit of the Renaissance.