THIS EXHIBITION WOVE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE REFINED BEAUTY OF PALAZZO GALLI TASSI AT NUMEROVENTI AND RICK OWENS’S POWERFUL SCULPTURAL BRONZE CREATIONS. THE ELEGANT RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE HOSTED THE SHARP CURVATURES AND ARCHETYPAL FORCE OF A GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED DESIGNER, BRINGING INTO TENSION TWO DISTINCT WORLDS: CONTEMPORARY BRUTALIST MINIMALISM AND A CLASSICAL SENSE OF HARMONY AND PROPORTION.
WITHIN THIS SETTING, ODE TO RICK BY PIETRO FRANCESCHINI INTRODUCED A SERIES OF ONYX PODIUMS CONCEIVED TO ACCOMPANY OWENS’S VASES. CARVED FROM SOLID STONE, THE ELEMENTS OPERATE AS BOTH SUPPORT AND EXTENSION—AMPLIFYING THE WEIGHT, SILHOUETTE, AND RITUAL PRESENCE OF THE WORKS THEY HOLD. RATHER THAN FRAMING THE OBJECTS, THE PODIUMS ENTER INTO DIALOGUE WITH THEM, GROUNDING THEIR INTENSITY WHILE REINFORCING THE EXHIBITION’S CENTRAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN MATERIAL GRAVITY AND ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT.