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Sergio Zavattieri

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Sergio Zavattieri · Hemerocalle · Pigmented inkjet print on Hahnemühle watercolor paper with albumen and varnish · 89 x 89 cm (109 x 109 cm framed) · Edition of 5 + 1 A.P. · 2006

Sergio Zavattieri - There are no positive solutions to the equation

Art and botanics entwine in the theme of dissimulation, with a subtle iconographic game inserting itself between deception and documentation. A selection of splendid plants come back to life in mystifying photographs…

This ambiguous title acts as an indirect introduction to the game of paradox and dissimulation. Fermat’s Last Theorem is:

If an integer n is greater than 2, then a^n + b^n = c^n has no solutions in non-zero integers a, b, and c.

This mathematical mystery dates back to 1637 and had remained notoriously unsolved. As history would have it, while Fermat was reading the Arithmetica of Diophantus, he wrote the above law on the side of a page, adding the note: "I have a truly marvellous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain." It goes without saying that the proof of this theorem was never found, and it was only in 1997, using the most recent discoveries, that attempts to formulate it proved successful. Is it possible that Fermat had already arrived at the solution? Or was he just bluffing? And yet, the theory was indeed correct…

Sergio Zavattieri sets out from afar, then draws us into the perplexing maze of doubt, deceitful truths and Sybilline tricks. It is just such a mysterious Impossible Theorem that is the link with the world of science, an indication of that ambiguous shadow that darkens the logical framework of knowledge.

Acting almost as a scientist, Zavattieri is an attentive observer and cataloguer of precious natural species. To his great enjoyment, in his photographs he evokes the essence of old blank and white prints, imaginary illustrations of botanical textbooks from the early 20th century.

Crisp and extremely elegant, these large images depict many examples of flora, specimens wrapped up in a technological and retro membrane. In reality, they are artificial objects (plants and flowers made of plastic, cloth, resin and paper), photographed by the analytical eye of a researcher. The sophisticated process of digital post-production completes the metamorphosis. Brought almost to life, these mysterious man-made forms trigger the game of deceit, restoring the enchantment of a revitalised laboratory table.

The spell cast by Hiroshi Sugimoto on the waxworks of his Portraits series, both create an illusion, portraying inanimate objects to whom the eye of the lens restores a breath of life.

This echo of the Vanitas style permeates the images of Sergio Zavattieri. It is the seductive power of consumption that illuminates and enlivens these tombstone-like shots. Disguised as delusive still lifes, the everlasting forms face openly a macabre squall of death. The inorganic looks out sneakily from this side of the photographic plane whilst at the same time the vital signs of the epidermis melt into the chilling silence of the lifeless.

Zavattieri toys with a type of photography that is raw, illustrative and documentative. The type of photography that is a “servant of the sciences and arts” as Baudelaire would have had it, functioning simply for recording phenomena. “Let it adorn the naturalist’s library” proclaimed the poet, and let it be nothing else but “the secretary and clerk of whoever needs an absolute factual exactitude in his profession.” Documentation and exactitude seem to be the unequivocal mindset of the photographer from Palermo. That is, if it were not for the accomplished mise en scène that introduces the seed of artificiality and dissimulation which opens his photography out into a dimension that is at the same time literary, theatrical and philosophical.

Helga Marsala
Exibart, 2007

Sergio Zavattieri

1970 born in Palermo, Italy

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Education

2000 Graduated Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo, Italy
1999/2000 Socrates-Erasmus, Facultad de Bellas Artes San Carlos, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain

Solo Exhibitions

2010
"The Ancient Romans Portfolio", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy

2008
"Alargando el tiempo todo adquiere formas diferentes", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain

2007
"Non esistono soluzioni intere positive all'equazione", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy

2006
"Botanica", Galleria Arturarte Contemporanea, Viterbo/Rome, Italy

2004
"Líquido, efímero, frío", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain

2003
"Falso movimiento", Fundación Municipal de Cultura El Puig, Valencia, Spain

Group Exhibitions

2010
"15 Fotografie", Spazio Cannatella, Palermo, Italy
"Sweet Sheets III", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy
"LÚMEN_EX 2010", Premios de Arte Digital Universidad de Extremadura", Palacio de Camarena, Cáceres, Spain

2009
"Transfer Lounge", Forja Arte Contemporáneo, Valencia, Spain. SPACE, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.
"A compass needle for our starry universe (Un ago di bussola per il nostro universo stellato)", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy
"Beautiful Freak, La belleza de la diferencia", Forja Arte Contemporáneo, Valencia, Spain

2008
"Out of Time", Axel Lapp Projects, Berlin, Germany
"Sweet Sheets II", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy
"Digital Media 1.0", LA NAU / Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
"The Immaterial Body", Galleria Huuto - Cable Factory, Helsinki, Finland

2007
"There is no optical in stripes", Produzentengalerie Scotty Enterprises, Berlin, Germany
"Sweet Sheets", Zelle Arte Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy
"La Familia / The Family", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain. Galleria Maa-tila, Helsinki, Finland

2006
"Vidifestival06", International Videoart Festival of Valencia, Spain
"Beautiful Kollaps", Capsvla Artecontemporanea, Rome, Italy
"Fuorigioco", SP Systema, Pomezia, Rome, Italy
"O eres tú John Wayne o lo soy yo", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain

2005-2006
XXXIII Premio Bancaja de Pintura, Escultura y Arte Digital", IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia, Spain. Centro Cultural Bancaja, Alicante, Spain. Centro Cultural de La Assunción, Albacete, Spain. Centro Cultural Bancaja de Villarreal, Spain

2005
"Plottart.europa", Centro internazionale per l’Arte Contemporanea Castello Colonna (CIAC), Genazzano, Rome, Italy. Museo Laboratorio Arte Contemporanea (MLAC), Rome, Italy. Galería Blanca Soto, Madrid, Spain
"Post Patetic", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain

2004
"Lo que no se ve", Project space La Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain

2003
"Arteuropa, Artistas Jóvenes de Europa", Centro Cultural Genaro Estrada de DIFOCUR, Culiacán, Mexico. Casa Ejidal Quilá II, Quilá, Mexico. Museo Regional del Valle del Fuerte, Los Mochis, Mexico. Centro Cultural Difocur-Badiraguato, Badiraguato, Mexico

2000
"Onda d’Urto, gli artisti siciliani under 35", Museo-albergo Atelier sul Mare, Castel di Tusa, Messina, Italy
"Intertecno 2000", Feria de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

1999
"FE99", Museo dell'Immagine Fotografica e delle Arti Visuali dell'Universitá di Roma Tor Vergata (MIFAV), Rome, Italy
"Art charnel, storie di corpi non addomesticali", Chiesa delle Balate, Palermo, Italy
"Il Genio di Palermo, studi aperti degli artisti", Palermo di scena, Palermo, Italy

1998
"Osservatorio Sud", Saletta AcaB, Catania, Italy
"Nowork", Centro Culturale Polivalente Agricantus, Palermo, Italy. Fuerte del Rapitán, Jaca, Spain

1997
"L’Immagine Leggera, festival internazionale di videoarte II edizione", Magazzini ferroviari ai Lolli, Palermo, Italy
"Corpo Unico", Laboratori Riuniti, Palermo, Italy

Collections

Fundación Bancaja, Valencia, Spain
MIFAV, Universitá di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Filmoteca Regionale Siciliana, Palermo, Italy
Private Collections in Spain, Italy, Germany and United Kingdom

Bibliography

- Donato Faruolo, The Ancient Romans Portfolio, Tribeart, La Guida mensile delle arti visive in Sicilia, may 2010
- Agata Polizzi, The Ancient Romans Portfolio, Giornale di Sicilia, 26 apr. 2010
- Guillaume Von Holden, The Ancient Romans Portfolio, press release, 2010
- Stefano Castelli and Alessandra Redaelli, Scelti per voi. Cinquantatre Opere da comprare sotto i cinquemila euro, Arte Mondadori, apr. 2010
- LÚMEN_EX, Premios de Arte Digital Universidad de Extremadura, catalogue. 2010
- Marina Giordano, L’arte di investire, I love Sicilia, feb. 2010
- Lucy Leitner, Wait Problems, Pittsburg City Paper, nov.12, 2009
- Kurt Shaw, 'Transfer Lounge' art being show concurrently in Spain, U.S., Tribune-Rewiew Art Critic, oct. 31, 2009
- Transfer Lounge, Calle 20 #41, September 2009
- Emilia Valenza, Il Presente? Meglio Schivarlo, Giornale di Sicilia, 1 may 2009
- Donato Faruolo, A compass needle for our starry universe (Un ago di bussola per il nostro universo stellato), TribeArt, may 2009
- Guillaume Von Holden, A compass needle for our starry universe (Un ago di bussola per il nostro universo stellato), press release, 2009
- Beautiful Freak (La Belleza de la Diferencia), Las Provincias, 7 mar. 2009
- Nueva exposición en Forja Arte Contemporáneo, Beautiful Freak (La Belleza de la Diferencia), El Mundo, 5 mar. 2009
- Forja Arte Contemporáneo acoge la muestra "Beautiful Freak", Levante, 4 mar. 2009
- Beautiful Freak (La Belleza de la Diferencia), catalogue. 2009
- Beautiful Freak (La Belleza de la Diferencia), brochure. 2009
- Il collezionismo fotografico in Italia, Il Giornale dell'Arte, Nov. 2008
- Angela Sanchez de Vera, La triste muerte de Luther Blissett, Reenvio #0, oct. 2008
- Sergio Zavattieri: Alargando el tiempo todo adquiere formas diferentes, Leica Fotografie International, mar. 2008
- Una situazione da seguire a Palermo, Arte e Critica Nº 53. 2007/2008
- Helga Marsala, Sergio Zavattieri, Non esistono soluzioni intere positive all'equazione, Exibart, 9 mar. 2007
- Sergio Zavattieri, Inside Italia, The Living Art Magazine Nº 31, 2007
- Giulia Ingarao, Il teorema pittorico di Sergio Zavattieri, Anteprima, Nº 2, 2007
- Sergio Zavattieri: Non esistono soluzioni intere positive all'equazione, Giornale di Sicilia, 9 feb. 2007
- Sergio Zavattieri: Non esistono soluzioni intere positive all'equazione, Leica Fotografie International, feb. 2007
- Federico Lupo, Non esistono soluzioni intere positive all'equazione, press release, 2007
- Giulia Ingarao, Panoramica sui nuovi appuntamenti della stagione nelle Gallerie di Palermo, Anteprima Nº 1, 2006
- Armando Pilato, El Vidifestival06 muestra en Valencia las obras de más de 350 artistas de 16 países, Levante, 3 nov. 2006
- Vidifestival06, International Videoart Festival of Valencia, catalogue, 2006
- Critica a l'art de gènere polititzat, Levante, 4 apr. 2006
- Stefano Elena, Sergio Zavattieri, Beautiful Kollaps, catalogue, 2006
- Stefano Elena, Sergio Zavattieri, Fuorigioco, catalogue, 2006
- Stefano Elena, Sergio Zavattieri, Botanica, brochure, 2006
- Elise Desserne, Sergio Zavattieri, Plottart.europa, catalogue, 2005
- XXXII Premio Bancaja de Pintura, Escultura y Arte Digital, catalogue, 2005
- Rosa Ulpiano, Sergio Zavattieri: Entre la ciencia y la estética, Levante, 5 nov. 2004
- Helga Marsala, Sergio Zavattieri: The Last Meal, press release, 2004
- Sergio Zavattieri, Vulture, Magazine de creación masiva Nº 8, 2004
- Rosa Ulpiano, Sergio Zavattieri: Rostros sin sentimiento, Levante, 21 feb. 2003
- Rosa Ulpiano, Sergio Zavattieri: Falso Movimiento, catalogue, 2003
- Gerónimo Gerardo Guevara Vera, Arteuropa, Artistas Jóvenes de Europa, brochure, 2003
- Intertecno 2000, catalogue, 2000
- Gianna Di Piazza, Sergio Zavattieri, Art Charnel, storie di corpi non addomesticati, catalogue, 1999
- FE99, catalogue, 1999
- Sabina Spada, Buone nuove da Palermo, Tema Celeste Nº 76, 1999
- Paola Nicita, Arte giovane a Palermo, Flash Art Nº 214, 1999
- Paola Nicita, Sergio Zavattieri, Genio di Palermo '99, studi aperti degli artisti, catalogue, 1999
- Paola Nicita, Giovani artisti in cd-rom, Oggi Sicilia, 26 gen. 1999
- Paola Nicita, Con "Nowork" un collettivo di giovani artisti palermitani, Oggi Sicilia, 28 dec. 1998
- L'immagine leggera, festival internazionale di videoarte II edizione, catalogue, 1997

Links

www.sergiozavattieri.com

Sergio Zavattieri

ZELLE ARTE CONTEMPORANEA
Via Matteo Bonello n°19 / Via Fastuca n°2
90134 Palermo
Italy

zelle@zelle.it
www.zelle.it