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| Marco Lodola's light sculpture, "The Beatles," is installed at Dongdaemun Design Plaza as part of the exhibition, "Light of the Future." Courtesy of the Embassy of Italy to Korea |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Italian neo-futurist artist Marco Lodola's iconic light sculptures are on view at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul, bridging Korea and Italy through his pop art.
Some 40 of Lodola's neon and plexiglass artworks are on view at "Marco Lodola: Light of the Future," an exhibition co-hosted by the Italian Embassy in Korea, the Italian Cultural Center in Korea and the Seoul Design Foundation at Gallery Mun and Miraero Bridge of the DDP.
Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla said that the Marco Lodola project is part of a series of events organized by the embassy to promote contemporary Italian design in Korea.
"We have spoken about design from a sustainability perspective and have focused in the past months also on the issues of communication and the creation of bridges between Italy and Korea," Failla said.
"This September, the aspect that will be highlighted will be the relationship between design and art, the combination of the industrial production of objects for everyday use and the creation of unique artistic works. This is the result of inspiration of one of the greatest contemporary artists of the Italian art scene," he said.
He also highlighted how Lodola's works match with the exhibit's location ― DDP, designed by architect Zaha Hadid.
"The premises of DDP share an unmistakably contemporary image with the Lodola exhibition and its artistic current and represent an added value for the overall experience of the many expected visitors," he said.
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| Curator Avio Mattiozzi, left, and Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla stand in front of Gallery Mun at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, where Italian artist Marco Lodola's exhibition, "Light of the Future," is being held through Oct. 9, on Sept. 7. Courtesy of the Embassy of Italy to Korea |
Avio Mattiozzi, curator of the Mirabili Group from Italy, which organized the exhibition in cooperation with the artist, said Lodola developed the Neo-futurism movement in the 1980s, blending the key conceptual values of the original Futurism movement with his own contemporary vision and adding other strong creative aspects from minimalism and a pop conceptual approach.
"Lodola feels free to bring to us any kind of subject: celebrities from the past as living in the present, images of everyday common life, humans in motion and of course, his visions and dreams," Mattiozzi explained.
"A lot of pure colors, all those colors that influence our emotions and feelings that Lodola use so well, enhanced by the light, are always present in his creations and bring them to us in a constant vibrant and intense way."
Among Lodola's classical yet futuristic works, Mattiozzi discussed with the artist how to choose the ones that would resonate better with a Korean audience.
"We bring a bit of famous international figures like the Beatles, mixed with what I call 'ancient celebrities' like Leonardo da Vinci. We tried to select works Koreans can understand better," Mattiozzi said.
He said Korean audience members have a strong connection with the simple shapes, colors and light of Lodola's works.
"But the interesting thing is that I think Koreans also have the understanding on that the approach is simple but the meaning is deep. The shapes are simple, but if you understand how they work, then you can develop more," Mattiozzi said.
"Marco Lodola: Light of the Future" runs at Gallery Mun through Oct. 9.
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