Pelle D’Oca | Silvia Levenson

SILVIA LEVENSON, a famous Argentine artist attentive to women’s issues and gender disparities, is the absolute protagonist of the exhibition PELLE D’OCA, an emotionally intense solo show. The OPENING RECEPTION of the exhibition, hosted in the PROJECT ROOM of the Gallery, will be held THURSDAY, JUNE from 5pm to 8pm at the main Gallery in Viale Sant’Antonio 59/61 in Varese. The artist will be exceptionally present.

The artist, with her refined sculptures, has always explored interpersonal relationships, focusing on the ambiguities of human connections. Glass, the material she uses to create her sculptures, is by its nature the most suitable element to investigate such ambiguities. It is a familiar material that protects and isolates, yet it is also extremely fragile.

For PUNTO SULL’ARTE, Levenson has created an installation that at first glance resembles a common domestic room, an environment that may seem safe and homely. However, as the gaze becomes accustomed, a sense of disorientation begins to emerge. In the room, there are familiar and alienating objects at the same time: a glass dress with copper wire, a reference to Cinderella’s glass slipper but with a small nail in the center, two bottles that inevitably remind us of today’s obsession with aesthetics.

Alongside these objects, there is also a mirror, which, due to its intrinsic meaning, could not be missing in this intense exhibition. Through the mirror, Levenson initiates a dense interplay of references: on one hand, the viewers observe their own reflection, but on the other hand, the same image of the viewer is transported into another reality, thanks to the writings that appear on the mirrors.

Silvia Levenson’s marvelous creations are elegant, sophisticated, but impractical: glass, razor blades, and iron wire make them dangerous, symbolizing the inability to uncritically follow certain unattainable and senseless beauty standards. “GOOSEBUMPS” develops a contemporary narrative like never before, a story where, with grace and delicacy, Levenson reveals the darker side of fairy tales and the danger that often lurks, for women, within the reassuring familiar reality.

SILVIA LEVENSON was born in Argentina in 1957. In her works, she explores the subtle space between what is seen and what is sensed, using glass as a magnifying lens to closely observe the conflicts within families and society. One of her recent traveling exhibitions is “Identidad Desapecida,” a project of denunciation that has toured the world, aiming to allude to the hundreds of children who were kidnapped and illegally adopted during the military dictatorship in Argentina. Silvia Levenson has also collaborated on various projects addressing the integration of refugees and migrants, such as “Multaka” with Berlin Glas and “Memories of Home” with the British Glass Biennale in England. In 2020, she participated in the exhibition “A Kind of Magic” at PUNTO SULL’ARTE Gallery. In the same year and in 2021, PUNTO SULL’ARTE also selected her works to participate in the group exhibition “<20 15×15 / 20×20.” Her work is part of important public and private collections such as the Corning Museum of Glass, the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe (USA), the Houston Fine Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Mint Museum in Charlotte (USA), the MUDAC in Lausanne, the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung in Munich, the Sforza Castle Museum in Milan, the Glass Museum in Murano, the Remotti Foundation in Camogli, the Banca San Gottardo Foundation, and the Glass Museum in Conches (FR). She has been living and working in Italy since 1981.