TRENTO, ITALY.-Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea of Trento presents Santiago Sierra - Una Persona, curated by Fabio Cavallucci and Carlos Jiménez. The artist Santiago Sierra, known for his provocative, scandalous performances, presented his first specific project for a public space in Italy on at the Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea of Trento. An incisive work that touches on the raw emotions of the spectator, involved in the artwork in the first person…as the title of the same installation Una Persona (One Person) could have perhaps foreseen.

On this occasion, the visitors of Trento were gathered in the foyer of the Galleria Civica, transformed by the artist into an aseptic atrium which requested silence. While a sign advised that the exhibition was visible only to one visitor at a time, and that the entering public needed to declare that they did not have cardiac problems, are not subject to anxiety or panic attacks, the atmosphere was charged with subtle apprehension mixed with curiosity for a kind of experience that can be viewed as exceptional. Thus the subtended psychological dynamics in the work are triggered, which sweep away the most unaware spectator and accompany him until the very end of his visit…and still maybe afterwards. Glancing at the entrance, the only thing that is shown is a world of black and white, much like the artist’s photographs, where everything is reduced to the essential…Behind a gray curtain, that vaguely recalls the ones found in hospitals, the door opens to let a tunnel of white light shine through. The spectator enters and becomes absorbed in this lighted passageway, only to emerge after more or less a long time. Those who remain outside are left with only the vision of a closed door and the wait.

Those who come out normally remain in silence, as if it they are still suspended in the dream-like dimension which we imagine they are still immersed in, without the need or the desire to supply particulars or comment on their experience. It is in fact a personal and intimate path, that which Sierra wanted to realize in Trento, where the single person is confronted with himself. In Trento, in conclusion, Sierra’s “usual” works are not found, no actions realized by a group of unemployed people subjected to humiliating practices, no shocking images, but rather a mystical journey inside a tunnel that leads to the heaven or hell that lies inside each one of us.

The local newspapers were enthusiastic from the first moment of this work, exclaiming truly important headlines: “’Sierra, abbiamo un capolavoro in città” (Sierra, we have a Masterpiece in the City) (L´Adige, October 8th, 2005), “Il labirinto bianco di Santiago Sierra. Al centro l’individuo” (Santiago Sierra’s White Labyrinth. The Individual at the Center) (Corriere dell’Alto Adige, October 8th, 2005), “Sierra, le nostre angosce nel labirinto” (Sierra, Our Anguish inside the Labyrinth) (Trentino, October 8th, 2005).

For the occasion, a catalogue in Italian, English and Spanish is being published, edited by the curators of the project, Fabio Cavallucci and Carlos Jiménez. The publication, edited by Silvana Editoriale, illustrates in detail all of the works created by Sierra to date, becoming the first complete catalogue of the artist.

This project is realized in collaboration with Prometeo Contemporary Art.
For this initiative, as well as many others, the Grand Hotel Trento of the Boscolo Hotel chain is sponsor of the Galleria Civica of Trento.