Curatorial notes
Curator: This is Fabio de Sanctis's "Modular," created in 1965. Editor: My first thought is: It looks like a very strange, enormous, melancholic mouth. What’s this intriguing construction made of? Curator: It seems to defy categorization at first glance, doesn't it? But in examining de Sanctis’s approach, we find a deliberate embrace of then-emerging technologies. The visible textures and assembled sections hint at an industrialized process—potentially, techniques of molding or even early 3D printing explored in a sculptural context. Editor: "Melancholic mouth" might have been too simplistic! Knowing about its construction certainly shifts the perspective. It's less about this raw, immediate expression and more a considered reflection on technology, isn’t it? Like a machine trying to feel. Curator: Precisely! The labor embedded in production – how the form takes shape using repeated, reproducible units – speaks to post-war dialogues between art, craft, and factory work. De Sanctis blurs these lines. It compels us to consider how “high art” borrows from industrial techniques while making space for human imprint. Editor: I’m stuck on these bundled supports below the form – like some industrial sea anemone holding aloft sadness. I am wondering... Does its title "Modular," suggest anything? The interchangeable or combinable character of modules? Curator: Yes, certainly. One could hypothesize that this artwork engages with standardized production methods. And how they redefine the relationship between parts and whole, originality and replication. Considering the period it was created, what was the Italian art world of 1965 absorbing from international avant-gardes? From Arte Povera or kinetic art's explorations of movement? Editor: In short, De Sanctis offers more than visual appeal here; this artwork reflects on material conditions and social debates of its era. Curator: Absolutely. By investigating both tangible materialities and intangible systems shaping production and use in culture "Modular" truly challenges any narrow definition we could cast upon 'sculpture'. Editor: What began as a mysterious, muted lip evolves into rich evidence connecting innovative manufacturing and philosophical curiosity – thanks to deep scrutiny from the right angles.