Work: He and she

Description

“Only then I feel at peace with my conscience: having ‘recounted’ something that regards everyone, and not having limited myself to my personal little pleasures or sorrows”, Giuliano Vangi.

“He and she” is a sculpture created in2015 by Giuliano Vangi for the “Frammenti d’umanità. Giuliano Vangi e i giovani artisti” exihibition (“Fragments of Humanity, Giuliano Vangi and youngartists”). It was then donated to the Museo Omero.

This sculpture made of bronze is 60centimetres tall.It depicts a man and woman in a tight embrace.

Their bodies are well proportioned, and both of them are standing and clothed, even though she is barefoot. The naked skin stands out because of the nickel patination is it made of, which gives it a silvery appearance. The man is slightly taller and holds the woman close, with one hand on her neck and the other on her back. He embraces her reassuringly. Their heads are close and their straight, thick hair blend together.

The woman’s face cannot be seen as it is pressed against the man’s shoulder. Her arms are tight against her chest and also hidden by the man’s englobing embrace. She wears a simple sweater and a smooth knee-length skirt; her legs are uncovered from below the knee, down to her bare feet. Her left heel is raised from the ground.We can only see half the man’s face which has a suffering expression. He also wears simple clothes: a shirt and long trousers, even though he has shoes on.

Attributing different shades to the material, by means of patinas or inserts of different materials, is a characteristic typical of Vangi’s style.

“He and she” is characterised by the warm and brown colour ofbronzecontrasted with the cold and light tones of nickel, used only for the man’s hands and face, and the woman’s legs and feet. The surfaces are polished, making the tactile experience pleasant. In addition, the work is placed on a revolving cylindric base which contributes further to enhancing the tactile experience.

An embrace beyond love, that has something desperate in it: meeting again after a long misadventure? This is a new iconography in the work of Vangi, who had always explored the fragility of contemporary man. The artist studies Man’s relationship with the world, with the Other, his emotionality, his psyche. Then he shows these tensions through the material, the bodies in his sculptures, their dynamism or immobility, their facial expressions and their gestures.