Turin returns to review, in its new home, Totality, a masterpiece by Costas Varotsos

In Turin, the work La Totalità by Greek artist Costas Varotsos (Athens, 1955) has been installed in the new location of the Giardino Grosa, a green area next to the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper in Corso Inghilterra 3. The work is therefore back on public view after its restoration, in a location that will allow a better appreciation of the sculpture and its protection. The artistic project and the related work of relocating the work, carried out thanks to the memorandum of understanding signed between the City of Turin, Fondazione Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale” and Intesa Sanpaolo, were concluded after the lockdown period caused by the Covid-19 health emergency, the flare-up of which in recent weeks did not allow the planned inauguration in the month of ContemporaryArt in the presence of the public, given the requirements contained in the latest DPCM for limiting contagions.

Varotsos’ work consists of overlapping glass plates resting on a metal structure and fixed together with silicone material. The planes, which completely cover the support structure, follow a helical pattern reaching a height of more than 9 meters. The sculpture is also unbalanced in one direction relative to the support base, providing an overall impression of movement. The metal structure, which enables the support of the glass plates, consists of 3 central tube trunks to which pairs of horizontal trays are welded. In the new installation, its inclined course has been more gradually indulged by arranging the first trunk no longer vertical but inclined by ten degrees compared to the original design. Completing the area where La Totalità stands is a mound of greenery bordered by shrubs that are a deterrent against possible vandalism while ensuring a proper overall view of the structure. Finally, in order to maintain the sculpture’s features, functionality, efficiency and value over time, a maintenance plan has been planned and will be supported by Intesa Sanpaolo.

“The idea for this work,” explains Costas Varotsos, "was born in 1999, at a historical moment when deindustrialization was causing an identity and existential crisis in Turin. In order to restart, stand strong and project itself into a dynamic future, the city began to look back to the past, to find in its DNA that planning, constructive and cultural capacity that has always been its own. When I was invited to create a monument for the city, I was reminded of the Elusive Figure, a 5th-century B.C.E. sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis, Greece. The subject depicted hurls himself forward, and at the same time casts a glance behind him so as not to forget the past. Therefore, this sculpture was the axis for the development of La Totalità, and it wants to connect not only to the history of Turin, but to send a message to all of Europe, which today finds itself destabilized and uncertain: like the Greek sculpture, we need to project ourselves forward and, at the same time, look back and review our history, which is the greatest strength of our continent. I would like to thank the City of Turin, La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Center Foundation and Intesa Sanpaolo. In particular, Councillor Francesca Leon for the great respect with which she followed my work and all the departments of the City for assistance, Engineer Gaetano Vitarelli for coordination and the technical part, my valuable assistants, and gallery owner Giorgio Persano who invited me back in 1999 to produce this same sculpture for Piazza Benefica. I hope that La Totalità will become a new friend of the city, which greets us every time we pass by it."

“The restoration of this work represents an important result achieved thanks to the synergy between the City of Turin, Intesa Sanpaolo and the Centro per il Restauro della Venaria,” stresses Francesca Leon, Turin’s Councillor for Culture. "The Totality, reconstructed using technologically advanced construction techniques and materials that guarantee its safety and resistance to the elements, thus rediscovers its space in the city. A work that, at this particular moment, represents an exhortation to move forward with confidence toward the future, despite the difficulties, contrasts and that ’vortex’ to which the work alludes. An exhortation, at the same time, not to forget our historical and cultural heritage, not to omit from our horizon of thought, how much art and culture are a fundamental part of humanity’s heritage of civilization."

“Turin and contemporary art have an increasingly important relevance in Intesa Sanpaolo’s Progetto Cultura,” says Michele Coppola, Executive Director, Intesa Sanpaolo Cultural Art and Historical Assets. “The return of the Varotsos sculpture is a new sign of attention to the city and the enhancement of its spaces, such as the gardens around the skyscraper. The defense of art masterpieces, together with the Venaria Restoration Center, is accompanied by promotional actions that look particularly at the contemporary. This is demonstrated by the recent presentation of the Bank’s new museum in Piazza San Carlo, which will have the world of photography as its main protagonist, and the initiation of dialogue with the prestigious Artissima fair, in a public-private partnership that is never more necessary and necessary than at this time.”

“We are happy to have given our contribution to the City of Turin and Intesa Sanpaolo to ensure that the work of Costas Varotsos would not be lost,” says Stefano Trucco, president of the Centro Conservazione Restauro La Venaria Reale. “Knowing that today it is in a worthy location gives us great pleasure. Working alongside the Master has been a truly enriching confrontation for us.”

Pictured, The Totality by Costas Varotsos. Ph. Credit Pasquale Iuzzolino

Turin returns to review, in its new home, Totality, a masterpiece by Costas Varotsos

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