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Studio Show 2005    2+1=16
A school of fish in colors of the ocean greets the visitor: colorful, vibrant,  placed here and there ( in the air, on the walls, on the ground ),
made from diverse materials, which is especially unusual  for those who have created them. These  fish symbolize the place and spirit
of  this community  of artists of Studio Pescarella.  From the work  of many hands, separately  yet in a group;  each different, yet from the
same species; nomads, yet included within the current of the great ocean of art.
Pietrasanta, the city of art and of artists, is a place of voluntary exile of those who have left their place of origin, their connections of affec-
tion, to  come to the land of marble.  They create a truly multicultural and multiracial city where italian is  the lingua franca: a picturesque
mix of artisan slang expressions,  real words mixed with invented words, but most of all,  words pronounced  in various accents. These
sculptors, coming from all over the world, arrive here at various phases of their development as artists, at different ages and at different
levels of fame.  In the studios where they work next to each other,  the marble dust covers them, canceling out the differences. It doesn't,
however,  cancel out the individuality  of the each one's particular talents,  which are nourished by various stimuli,  which seem to be im-
possible to find elsewhere.
This is the context in which  the Studio Pescarella was born: one artist bought an abandoned marble sawmill some years ago.  After re-

storing the sawmill, she, with three partners, created the studio where today, a group of artists of different nationalities give life to a mul-
tiethnic  community based on mutual support and friendship.  These artists have been working for years together, sharing the experien-
ces of the artistic life while maintaining, unaltered, their individuality.
Their stories are similar:  the dream of marble, the apprenticeship in the artisans'  studios and finally, the experience of finding oneself
one on one with the stone  in a place surrounded by  the mountains where this stone comes from,  in a place permeated by the unique
light  off the sea nearby. Most have  come here for a period  of time and then just stayed.  There is also workspace  for those who come
only for a few months.
Contrary to the stereotypic image of the artist, ( solitary disorganized individualist without rules ), Studio Pescarella reflects an image of
art as work, as a constant practice, where creativity develops better if circumscribed by some rules and order and where the craft is sus-
tained by the energy of the group. The idea of the show was born of this spirit. Open to the public, one of the two big  halls and the work-
spaces flanking the plaza have been transformed to exposition spaces. They will remain so for the whole week. Artists of Studio Pesca-
rella,  who mostly work in marble,  and a painter,  are joined by others working in different materials.  The title of the show, 2+1=16, is a
surreal arithmetic of this synthesis.
At  first glance,  abstraction appears  to be the dominant style  of the sculptors of  the Pescarella,  but in reality, it often emerges from, or
better,  returns to anthropomorphic and natural forms.  These forms  follow different paths,  for example with Barbara Hodgkins,  Naoco
Kumasaka,  Lothar Nickel, Neal Barab, and Sauro Lorenzoni.  The transformation of material into harmonious form is the orientation of
Rita Matt, Lotte Thuenker,  Karin van Ommeren, and Guus Jooss, whereas  Jaya Schuerch works with the energy of movement and gra-
vity.  Kang Soek-Won takes the marble to the strange metamorphosis of a puzzle, Christine Madies, in an apparent antithesis, uses the
material  of wood and there are the evocative architectural  forms of Marc-Michel Loret. In the midst of all the marble, fish line with which
Angelica Bergamini  has woven voluminous clouds,  clothing and things,  and rubber,  which Antonio Luchinelli uses,  joyfully transform
into illusions of objects.  Finally,  a painter,  Lorenzo Lazzeri,  seems to hold it all together  with his paintings of anthropomorphic appari-
tions in large spaces of color.
 
Antonella Serafina, Juli 2005
Translation by Jaya Schuerch, Juli 2005