After a ten year hiatus, Maurizio Cattelan is back with an immersive and existential exhibition in Milan.

Located at the northern gates to the city in the Bicocca district, the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca is one of the most impressive exposition spaces dedicated to modern and contemporary art in the Lombard capital. The imposing building, originally a factory owned by the company Ansaldo Breda, was bought by Pirelli in 2004 and transformed into 1500 square meters of gallery space. It is here that Maurizio Cattelan, one of the most well-known Italian contemporary artists in the world, presents the exhibition Breath Ghosts Blind until February 20, 2022. We at Wakapedia are the n.1 groupies of this provocative artist who is always perfectly in synch with the times. Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to go see the show!

The exhibition marks the return of Maurizio Cattelan to Milan after an absence of more than ten years (it was about time!). Like a narration in three acts, the show reveals three works of art in sequence — Breath, Ghosts and Blind. The works are symbols of the cycle of life, from creation to death, and are so perfectly placed that the monumental and solemn architecture of Hangar Bicocca becomes part of the show. This exhibition is atypical of Cattelan because it is permeated not by his usual sense of lightness and irony, but rather by a profound melancholy. It is an immersive and emotional experience that provokes reflection on the great existential questions (the meaning of life, the inevitability of death) as well as on events that mark contemporary history. This project left us with our mouths ajar because it was such a departure from the artist’s usual disposition as the ever-smiling joker. Here, instead, we were shocked to see Cattelan’s dark side completely exposed by the masterful works in their imposing setting.

An itinerary in three acts

Upon entering, visitors are struck by the life-sized sculpture made of white Carrara marble called Breath. The sculpture consists of two prone figures lying on the ground in a pool of light created by expert lighting designer Pasquale Mari. The first figure is a man whose features and the fact that he’s wearing a hat (Cattelan’s favorite accessory) make us believe that it is a self-portrait of the artist! The man is in the fetal position facing a dog. The scene calls to mind other marginalised subjects that Cattelan has depicted in the past and transmits a sense of fragility and solitude which is heightened by the marked contrast in size between the sculpture and the immense, dark open space of the Hangar. Furthermore, the contrast between the use of the prestigious material associated with ancient sculpture and the representation of everyday suffering imbues the work with a sacred aura and situates it in a timeless space. The title refers to the breath the two characters share; a vital function that is as imperceptible as it is essential which has the power to animate even marble. 

Visitors discover the disturbing spectators in the next act little by little. Hundreds of taxidermied pigeons fill the nave of the ex-industrial building. The work, called Ghost, is a new version of the installation Cattelan presented at the 47th and 54th Venice Biennales. From their semi-camouflaged positions above, the pigeons both disturb and alienate us. They also evoke the calm before the famous attack scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 The Birds. From their perches on telephone wires and on the gables of houses, the winged creatures in the film calmly observe their prey before attacking them.

Blind, an enormous black resin monolith composed of a square column intersected by an airplane at the apex, closes the exhibition. Like a snapshot in time, it clearly depicts the tragic attacks on 9/11 to the Twin Towers in New York. This imposing work is a sort of grim memorial-monument that evokes themes of death and collective tragedy. The title could refer to those who deny the truth of contemporary tragedies or it could be a critique on politicians who avoided this dramatic event. More motionless pigeons, this time in a row of thirteen like Jesus and the Apostles at the last supper, watch over the tragedy from on high. This detail adds another dimension to the spectators’ state of apprehension and anxiety.

The exhibition Breath Ghosts Blind,l ike all Cattelan’s art works, does not leave spectators indifferent. By the end of the visit, a strange sense of malaise overcame us as we grappled with themes such as human solitude, the meaning of life, and the fear of death. But isn’t art meant to rouse us, make us think, and push us out of our comfort zone? Indeed, it is. Maurizio Cattelan hit the mark once again.

 

Edited by: Kassandra Frua De Angeli