2009
Silicon Colors - Alessandro Ciffo
March. 21st 2009 – April, 30th 2009
Galleria Paola Verrengia presents the exhibition Silicon Colors by Alessandro Ciffo, artist and designer, who chose silicon as the only material selected to give life to his multicolor productions, ironizing about the use of plastic resins in the borderline field that exists between art and design.
The artistic research of Ciffo is based on an only material, silicone, discovered in 1997 during his collaboration with the group Cracking Art, after which he took a different path that allowed him to emerge through a better definition of his personality. Typical of his work is the creation of lucid and colorful surfaces (some of these shapes can become benches, sofas, tables, amphorae, cubes and parallelepipeds).
The artistic experimentation of Ciffo, among the first artists who have decided to use silicone – a slimy, gelatinous, technological material – evolves in the field of design through a wise use of the melting technique and the application of several layers with a palette knife. In his work Ciffo manipulates this material to turn it to bronze or clay.
On display at the Galleria Verrengia you will find the series Colors, where amphorae, cubes and benches are in dialogue with the series of the Gomme, created to tell a story about landscapes characterized by unusual names such as “Piove nel deserto” or “Alba al Polo Est”. These creations have been conceived to give life to a site specific installation created by Alessandro Ciffo for the spaces of the gallery.
The two events dedicated to Alessandro Ciffo resulted from the collaboration between the Galleria Paola Verrengia of Salerno and the Plart Museum Research Center of Naples: the exhibition Silicon D at the Plart of Naples from March, 20th 2009 and the exhibition Colors at the Galleria Paola Verrengia from March, 21st 2009.
Alessandro Ciffo (Biella, 1968) is a young self-thought/self-produced artist and designer. He graduated in Industrial Electronics in 1987. In 1996 he collaborated with the group Cracking Art to create the Cracking Gadgets. In 1997 he created the first XXI SILICO collection. He lives and works in Biella, where in his laboratory he creates furniture, vases, rubbers, and other artistic/decorative objects. His most recent solo shows and group exhibitions: Galleria Dilmos, XXI Silico, Milano (1999), Galleria Dilmos, Milano – Salone del Mobile (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008), Città dell’Arte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella (2002), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino (2002), Sant’Elia 2007 kg di Silicone in Tipografia (2007), Galleria Secondome, XXI Silico – Marmimolli, Roma (2008), Galleria Dilmos, Milano (2008).
