Naturalia

a collection by Enrico Maestrini

Following the idea at the base of my "roots" collection, I approach the theme of Naturalia, borrowed from the wunderkammer of the Reinassance. Fascinated by shells, minerals and other natural elements, I recreate objects of wonder with ancient objects: a glorification of the Creator as supreme sculptor.

Enrico Maestrini

Above: rose madrepore mounted upon wooden base with "dog tooth", ostrich egg on 15th Century base, height 37 cm, spondilus, crab shell, rock crystal with red inclusion, big shell on 19th Century base, height 32 cm, antelope horn, height 61 cm.

Back from the roots

Radiche from Gabriella Crespi Collection

Restoration and sculptural acting by Enrico Maestrini

In the 1960's Gabriella Crespi was one of the few Europeans that was allowed to visit China and bring to Italy works of art such as paintings, ceramics and root woods that she presented in her showrooms in Rome and Milan.
She used root woods as complement for her pieces of furniture.
This action, which is simple at a first glance, has multiple meanings: first of all Gabriella underlines an aesthetic contrast between the simple lines of her works and the "baroque" curves of the roots. Second, she develops an additional contrast between the "rigour" of the metals used for her sculpture-tables and the warmth of the wood.
Gabriella also introduced a change in taste: she crushes, let me say so, Dresden ceramics, focusing on these meditation sculptures that have always been the cornerstone of the Chinese scholar's studio.
In Chinese culture, these works are equivalent to Yantras spontaneously produced by nature.
Eventually she offered an explicit spiritual message, giving birth in a new form, through her artistic vision, to an inanimated piece of wood; in this way she talks about rebirth, life after death.

Enrico Maestrini

Restoration and sculptural acting by Enrico Maestrini

Special thanks to:
Filippo Forti - studio assistance
Francesco Maestrini - iron bases
MAVACAR - logistics

Click here to download the catalogue

Spirit roots

Sculptures by Enrico Maestrini

on display from 13th to 18th April 2015
Monday-Saturday 10-19
hosted by

Antik Arte e Scienza
Via San Giovanni sul Muro, 10
20121 Milano - 02 86461448
info@antik.it - www.antik.it

These sculptures could be considered as "ready made" or "objets trouvés" but, unlike the pieces of the surrealists and american pop artists, they are not made with objects coming from everyday life, ordinary objects; these sculptures are the result of more than ten years of research.
All these roots satisfy a fundamental requirement: they must be finished objects, complete sculptures without the need for my intervention, which is limited to presentation operations (adding of the base, waxing, etc.). The sculpture is therefore praise of god's creation and these objects are somehow like a prayer.
Here is the key of my work, which wants to be a bridge between western and eastern art. In the multimillennary tradition of Chinese Art, roots indeed, together with rocks and bonsai, decorated the table and the studio of the scholars: they were meditation tools which reflected the big into the small and which allowed the scholar to reach deeper states of awareness through a play of projections.
The sense of these works is not fixed, but follows the state of mind of their owner. These sculptures are also "Naturalia", objects of wonder coming from the natural world; these have ingluenced many artists in the 20th Century (just think of the recent exibition at the Gallerie d'Italia): Mauri, Kounellis, Cavaliere, Bay and many others who have given new life to the concept of Wunderkammer (room of wonders). This art of the second part of the 20th Century deeply influenced my tastes and my artistic production. I would like to close this brief introduction by referring to my friend Gabriella Crespi's roots. With her I shared trips and spiritual researches: she counterposed these baroque objects/sculptures to the linearity of her plurimi (metal pieces of furniture with geometrical and clean shapes), obtaining a strong aesthetic contrast.

I will end by mentioning Man Ray:

"Whatever elements that may come to hand or that are selected from the profusion of materials, are combined with words to create a simple poetic image. One should not look for plastic quality, virtuosity or merits usually associated with works of art. This should amuse, disturb, mistify or provoke reflection. These images above all should entertain - the only sure road to appreciation".

Dowload the flier from this link.

Sculptures by Enrico Maestrini

I am an art collector since a lifetime and begun to collect roots more than ten years ago. Recently I developed the need of expressing myself through the elaboration of these materials.

The art of roots engraving is an old chinese popular tradition since more than 2000 years, which became very sophisticated in time, giving birth to beautiful artifacts during the Ming and Qing dinasties.

These objects were considered sparks for meditation and decorated the table and the studio of the intellectual.

The meeting between these objects and Italian modern art - spatialism, conceptual art, poor art - stimulated my creativity.

I hope these sculptures, which tell about a very important part of my life, will be appreciated.