Ben Patterson's Constellation returns to Genoa after restoration

Among the Fall BLU exhibitions at Villa Croce, Genoa, is Ben Patterson’s Ben Patterson. The Restored Constellation, in collaboration with La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Center.

On this occasion, the work Constellation of the first magnitude, which Ben Patterson (Pittsburgh, 1934 - 2016) made in 2002 for the exhibition entitled The Fluxus Constellation held precisely at the Villa Croce Museum to celebrate the movement’s 40th anniversary, is presented to the public for the first time after restoration. Fluxus was one of the most revolutionary avant-garde movements of the 1960s, born out of a loose association of many artists led by George Maciunas.

The work was restored between 2017 and 2019 by Alessandra Scorano, of the Venaria Reale Restoration Center, under the supervision of Alessandra Bassi.

The artist recreates an ironic starry sky, whose luminous stars, which flicker on intermittently, depict the faces of Fluxus artists paired with their zodiac signs: George Maciunas has the body of Scorpio, Robert Filliou towers above a Capricorn, Ben Patterson is depicted under the symbol of Gemini, Wolf Vostell above that of Libra. This is a wall installation consisting of thirty-five ceiling lights with screen-printed nylon covers and a light tube. The Fluxus galaxy emerges from a nocturnal background (the small hall on the main floor has been painted entirely in midnight blue), creating a fantastic cosmogony.

The luminous stars turn on and off intermittently, without following a set time, emphasizing how chance is a fundamental element of Patterson’s research: the twinkling of the zodiac signs is echoed by the vibrations, also intermittent, of a long strip of LEDs that compose the keyword FLUXUS.

For info: www.visitgenoa.it/evento/autunno-blu-villa-croce

Hours: Thursday and Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Image: Ben Patterson, Constellation of the first magnitude (2002; mixed media, dimensions variable)

Ben Patterson's Constellation returns to Genoa after restoration

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