Vestige

SECCI, at its Pietrasanta location (Via Giuseppe Garibaldi,10), is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Chris Soal (South Africa, 1994), titled “Vestige,” curated by Chiara Guidi. The exhibition opens on Friday,June 7, at6p.m.and will be open until July14, 2024.

Chris Soal reaffirms his association with the gallery through this new collaboration, presenting a new nucleus of works created specifically for Pietrasanta. In this exhibition, Soal investigates the historical and artistic heritage of the area and its proximity to the Apuan Alps. Stylistically, Soal’s works focus on the opposition between the seemingly organic and the inorganic, growth and decay, absence and presence. The rare and intriguing bimorphism of his sculptures vibrates with the original materials, creating disorienting visions. Slender bamboo sticks, birch sticks in their combusted state, aggregating polyurethanes, aluminum crown caps, fiberglass, supporting polyurethanes, and micro lagoon islands of concrete all participate in an experimentation that results in solutions where aesthetics merge with tactile perceptions and polymorphic gazes.

Concrete, a fluid material only when in motion, becomes rigid once fixed in place; rigid things cannot remain intact on a moving planet. For “Vestige,” Soal’s investigation leads him to explore the territory, particularly the moment of Carrara marble quarrying—an activity that has altered the landscape of the Apuan Alps over time. The characteristics of the most prized marble, affectionately called “moon” by the ancient Romans due to its brilliant luminosity, are a focal point. The artist’s research and reflection for this exhibition reaffirm not only his poetics but also his narrative ability to address significant issues like climate change and how individuals confront urban society. His intuitive ecological sense is evident in every rib, tension of the materials, and each of its unprecedented agglomerations.