Of Bridges & Borders – Valparaíso Fabrice Gygi – Gift of a permanent sculpture for the public space.
Presentation 10 May 2013
Parque Italia
Gift of sculptures made by the Swiss artist, Fabrice Gygi for the Parque Italia in Valparaiso, Chile.
As part of the contemporary art project: Of Bridges & Borders, that began its new phase in Chile in March 2013, and thanks to the collaboration of the Municipality of Valparaíso, the Swiss artist Fabrice Gygi (Geneva, 1965) presents since end of May his most recent sculptural works in the city of Valparaiso.
The Parque Italia, where many installed empty plinths already speak of the absence of sculptures, immediately inspired the artist to works with this subject. He took it as an opportunity to start a conversation with the void left by the sculptures stolen. In this context, Gygi has designed a kind of contemporary monument, composed of three stone pieces of different sizes that show up minimalist rigor. Trying to put aside any hint of beautification, the set of sculptures is inserted in this city busy space, where many demonstrations of various kinds converge, without imposing any form of appreciation. In that sense, Gygi comes to provide a platform for a possible dialogue, a monument without leading figures.
With this set of pieces of enormous simplicity and potential, Fabrice Gygi, who was awarded three times for the Swiss Federal Prize of Fine Arts and represented his country in the Biennials of Cairo, Sao Paulo and Venice, makes a gift of this sculptural monument reinforcing civic references in one of the most iconic public places of Valparaiso.
The donation of these pieces has been made possible by the support given by the cultural department of the city of Geneva, the Cantonal Fund of Contemporary Art in Geneva, the Swiss arts Council – Pro Helvetia, the cultural associations KBB and Toit du Monde and especially the artist Fabrice Gygi.
