Umberto Mariani

28 WHITE SHEETS

In the history of art, drapery occupies most of the surface in paintings and probably also in sculpture. The extraordinary

challenge that artists have always faced is to enrich figurative realism with a dynamic sense of dynamics that is presented to the viewer through the drapery. Inevitably, however, even with all the feelings conveyed by great artists, painted and sculpted folds and fabrics are and remain fixed, crystallized in time. This project by Umberto Mariani, on the other hand, brings the works to life in a truly dynamic way, because the social mention of civil protest against corruption on every level calls for his sheets to flutter in the windows of the Carmini cloister. The solution for perceiving this movement is offered today by technology and the explosive world of NFTs. A short digital film shows the public worldwide — not just those who are able to visit the pavilion in person — the fluttering works hanging in the windows, allowing collectors of the emerging digital world to own a work of art that identifies a precise historical moment, fully transmitting the concept developed through the artist’s research. The civic sense of the message transmitted by Umberto Mariani at the Venice Bienniale is thus amplified by cryptoart, creating a coherent dialogue that completes the installation by extending it in time and space from the virtual world. This we see advancing in an increasingly volatile way and it helps the artist to denounce a social scourge that knows no borders and continues to spread, hindering the merited growth of those who build their futures on commitment, sacrifice, and honesty.