The Museo Novecento and the Le Murate complex will host Albanian artist Adrian Paci’s first solo exhibition in Tuscany, “Lights to serve the night” (Di queste luci si servirà la notte), from November 11 to February 11, 2018.
Paci’s project centers on migration, identity and flux, exploring the changing homes and identities of individuals and populations. Fifteen pieces will be displayed at Museo Novecento, two in Le Murate, and one in each satellite site, Pelago and Montelupo Fiorentino.
Adrian Paci, Turn On, 2004. Framed photograph.
Courtesy of the artist and kaufmann repetto, Milano / New York
Paci’s work interprets existence as an unceasing quest and a state of perennial movement, using the endless flow of water as an extended metaphor of action and reaction throughout the exhibition.
Combining performance, video, paintings and photos, Paci’s exhibition uses both personal histories and recent world events to illustrate the ever-changing nature of people and their surroundings.
The show’s chief symbol is a medusa-like boat carrying 10 optical tentacles, filmed moving down the Arno River. The skeleton raft and accompanying video will be displayed in Museo Novecento’s Sala Grande. These pieces will be juxtaposed with Paci’s older works and the museum’s permanent collection.
Curator Valentina Gensini helped Paci shape this exhibition around Florence and the Arno River. Through studying river archaeology over the course of their two-year professional relationship, Gensini and Paci customized the show for Florence.
Paci has a long history of international exhibitions, having had his work displayed in Rome’s Museo MAXXI in 2015 and in New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2006. His work has historically focused on humans in transit and complex cultural and political dynamics. “Lights to serve the night” continues developing these themes.
Di queste luci si servirà la notte
November 11-February 11, 2018
Museo Novecento, piazza Santa Maria Novella 10, Florence
8,50 euro
Le Murate. Progetti Arte Contemporanea, piazza delle Murate, Florence
Free entry
Ex fabbrica Tappeti, via del Mulino, San Francesco, Pelago, free
Fornace Cioni Alderighi, Via Giro delle Mura 90, Montelupo Fiorentino, free
