By Jenifer Mangione Vogt, art and Italian culture writer

Anyone familiar with Italy knows there’s a subtext of tension between antiquity and modernity that lies beneath its charming exterior.  In relation to art, this tension has resulted in artistic movements, such as arte povera ( “poor art”), led by Michelangelo Pistoletto and Alighiero Boetti, that rejected classical forms of art like painting in favor of conceptual art constructed from inexpensive, yet more democratic, artistic materials.  They revered thought over imagery. Others, such as the transavanguardia artists, including Sandro Chia and Francesco Clemente, embraced painting and figuration.  They reintroduced the canvas and imbued it with warmth and color.  They were, by contrast, enamored with imagery.

Yet, as disparate as they are, these two ideologies don’t need to compete with each other because both successfully evoke emotion.  Tomorrow night, “Original Sin,” a show of new work by Italian artist Camilla Ancilotto, demonstrates how the blending of old and new, the conceptual with the figurative, rather than opposing them against each other, can create a delightfully enticing equilibrium.  The exhibit was organized and curated by Coral Gables-based Galleria Ca’ D’oro, Their original gallery in Rome is a landmark that overlooks the Spanish Steps and was founded in the 70s by Antonio Porcella, son of Amadore Porcella, an important Italian art critic.  They opened their Coral Gables gallery in 2010 during Art Basel Miami Beach.

Ancilotto, who is also from Rome, creates large whimsical and geometric sculptures out of parallelepipeds. If you remember H.S. geometry, you’ll know that these are three-dimensional figures formed by six parallelograms.  The building-block-like elements are movable.  On them, on all sides, she has applied stucco and then on top of that painted colorful, figurative scenes that allude to renaissance painters like Michelangelo and Bronzino.  Their structure is minimalist and conceptual, yet their surface is colorful and figurative.

Merely looking at Ancilotto’s works evokes a sense of giddy awe, but it gets better.  She wants the viewer to engage with her art and so the parallelepipeds rotate and the viewer is invited — expected — to play with them. This makes her work like an art toy for grown-ups, who are then exalted to artworks status, similar to what Pistoletto does with his mirror paintings.   So, traditional figurative painting collides with the conceptual to evoke thought and the imagery of the work is constantly evolving depending on the whim of the viewer.

Italians are known for their sense of enjoyment, or La Dolce Vita, and Ancilotto brings that to her work.  You can expect this opening to be fun.  Rather than seeing people standing around at a polite distance from the work, requisite glass of wine in hand, expect to find them playing with the art, probably more so as the evening wears on and the wine kicks in.

Il Peccato Originale (Original Sin), 2011, acrylic painting on wooden rotating models covered with Plexiglas. Photo courtesy of Galleria Ca’ D’oro.

Camilla Ancilotto, “Original Sin” opens with a cocktail reception at 5pm at the Freedom Tower. The  artist will give a talk about her work at 6pm. The exhibit will be on view at the tower from September 6  until October 6th. 300 NE 2 Ave, Building 1, Floor 3, Miami.  This exhibit is co-sponsored by Miami Dad College’s art gallery system. For more information, please visit Galleria Ca’ D’oro’s website.