Specchio 1968

Giovanni Anselmo's 'Specchio' isn't a painting, it's a mirror – well, kind of! It's a vertical slab of dark brown material, propped up by what looks like cotton or some kind of padding. I imagine Anselmo in his studio, drawn to the raw, elemental qualities of these materials. It makes me think about Arte Povera – this idea of using simple, everyday stuff to challenge traditional art values. There's a stillness and a kind of poetry in the way the dark slab meets the ground. It’s both grounded and ethereal. I wonder if Anselmo was thinking about gravity when he made this? The cotton seems to defy it, like a cloud or a puff of smoke. It reminds me of other artists playing with gravity, like Richard Serra and his lead props. But Anselmo’s is softer, more tentative, leaving space for doubt and change. Art's a conversation, right?