INFLATABLE INSTALLATION
BD - Bicono, 2024
PVC, Air, 270 x 270 x 600 cm
Renowned for his groundbreaking experimentation with synthetic materials in the 1960s and his large-scale, public spatial installations that challenged the everyday conventions of local inhabitants, Franco Mazzucchelli has created a prolific body of work spanning decades. His most notable series, A.to A. (Art to Abandon), comprises inflatable sculptures crafted from PVC initially left in lakes and deserts before being placed in public spaces throughout Italy, including squares, schools, and factories. These works temporarily became integrated into the urban environment, and interactions with passers-by activated their unexpected social functions: rather than passively admiring the artworks, the public eagerly touched, moved, played with, and sometimes appropriated them. Of the majority of these “abandoned” objects, only photographs and videos remain, documenting the interactions between the artworks and their surroundings. His subsequent series, Bieca Decorazione, which translates to “pure decoration,” differs from its ephemeral A. to A. predecessors by acknowledging their objecthood and the art
market. While initially seeming contradictory, the Bieca Decorazione series draws on context and history to assert its value beyond mere commodity.