Is sculpture a dead language? In Venice, the answer in a dialogue between Giorgio Andreotta Calò and Arturo Martini

In March 1944, Arturo Martini, one of the greatest Italian sculptors of the twentieth century, began writing his famous text La scultura lingua morta, published the following year in a limited edition in Venice. In this writing, Martini declared with painful conviction that sculpture had lost the capacity to be alive and universal. It was a provocative position, expressed at a dramatic moment in history, during World War II, which called into question the very role of art in society. It is from these reflections that the exhibition currently hosted by the International Gallery of Modern Art at Ca’ Pesaro in Venice comes to life. The exhibition features a dialogue between Martini and Giorgio Andreotta Calò, a Venetian artist among the most influential voices in contemporary Italian art.

Giorgio Andreotta Calò tackles the challenge set by Martini through a body of works intended to explore the potential of sculpture as a living and vibrant language. The exhibition brings together some of his most significant works, created over a period of more than two decades. Prominent among them are the famous Hourglasses, Nobilis Fins, Carrots and a series of Jellyfish.

A central moment of the exhibition is the intimate confrontation between a Medusa by Calò, created thanks to PAC2021 - Plan for Contemporary Art, and Arturo Martini’s Head of Medusa, from the deposits of the National Gallery of Modern Art at Ca’ Pesaro. This symbolic dialogue highlights how the sculptural language, despite Martini’s expressed doubts, is more alive than ever.

Venice as a plastic laboratory

The link between Calò’s plastic production and the city of Venice is another central theme of the exhibition. The second room of the exhibition presents materials that testify to this relationship, such as drawings and cores, which are the result of technical investigations conducted on the façade of Ca’ Pesaro by professionals from the Venice City Council’s Public Works Department.

These materials are integrated with Calò’s work, with the aim of creating a dialogue between the Longhena architecture of Ca’ Pesaro and contemporary sculptures. The exhibition is also enriched with archival documents that tell the story of the palace, from the photographic campaigns on the collections to the restoration and exhibition projects. The exhibition thus weaves sculpture, museography, architecture and restoration into a unified narrative. Venice emerges as a living laboratory, where past and present meet to redefine the language of art.

Plastic production, which for Martini risked being a “dead language,” is instead revealed as a tool capable of bearing witness to the vitality and complexity of a city that continues to inspire artists and thinkers.

Notes on Giorgio Andreotta Calò

Giorgio Andreotta Calò (Venice, 1979) lives and works between Italy and the Netherlands. He studied sculpture at theAcademy of Fine Arts in Venice and at the Kunsthochschule in Berlin. Between 2001 and 2007 he was assistant to Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. In 2008 he began a collaboration with Galleria ZERO...(Milan). In 2008 he moved to the Netherlands and was artist-in-residence at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (2009-2011). In 2011 his work is presented at the 54. Biennale directed by Bice Curiger. In 2012 he wins the Premio Italia for contemporary art promoted by MAXXI in Rome. Between 2012 and 2013 he is artist-in-residence at the Centre National d’Art Contemporain at Villa Arson in Nice. In 2014 he wins the New York Prize promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2015 he began collaborating with Sprovieri Gallery (London). In 2017 he is one of three artists invited to represent Italy in the pavilion curated by Cecilia Alemani at the 57. Biennale and with the project Anastasis he wins the Italian Council call (2017).

In 2019 a solo exhibition is dedicated to him at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan. Between 2017 and 2024 he creates a permanent environmental work for the collection of Castello di Ama. In 2024 he begins a collaboration with Annet Gelink Gallery (Amsterdam). His work can be found in the main collections of Italian contemporary art museums and in prestigious private collections in Italy and abroad. Since 2016 he has established his studio in Venice, and since 2021 he has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in the department of Sculpture.

For all information, you can visit Ca’ Pesaro’s official website.

Is sculpture a dead language? In Venice, the answer in a dialogue between Giorgio Andreotta Calò and Arturo Martini

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