An encounter between Contemporary Art and nature is presented in Palermo in the installation of sculptures by artist Alba Gonzales entitled Miti Mediterranei (Mediterranean Myths), curated by Gabriele Simongini and presented within the park of the Giuseppe Whitaker Foundation.

  

Nerve center and cradle of infinite civilizations, occupying 3% of the world’s fresh water resources, the Mediterranean sea has indisputably been a melting pot of civilizations and multiple cultures, which presently still offer a cause for reflection and creativity and that, in this case, are inserted into a prestigious natural context which they enhance.

 

Alba Gonzales, with her 19 medium- and large-sized bronze sculptures, explores the vices, hopes, and ambitions of the contemporary man, who sometimes looks upwards, towards the unknown, and other times downwards, towards the material and earthly dimension.

Between these two possible extremes of anthropological exploration lie the works of Alba Gonzales who, in order to express herself, draws on myths. An always faithful starting point when it comes to classical Mediterranean civilization.

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Bodies, meant as a temple of the soul by the artist, hold traces of the myths that provide  pieces to a new exploratory path that leads towards better understanding a society which has been anesthetized by social media networks.

 

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Alba Gonzales manifests an intense ethical commitment and deliberately strengthens the tones of her themes, which range from greed to obsession with sex and power, from the dominance of narcissism to bellicose fury, making them almost hyperbolic expressions.

“For the first time in my life,” the artist stated, “I am really excited about the result. I felt a certain fear in dealing with this land that is a symbol of a deep basin of cultures.”

The works have titles that are evocative in themselves, like Il dubbio di Narciso Il dubbio di Narciso (Narcisuss’ Doubt)  or Chimera e le maschere (Chimera and the Masks), and are accompanied by a brief explanation on adjacent panels that help visitors understand the sculptures, all surrounded by the immense and almost animated fronds of the Whitaker Foundation park.

“Whoever stands before these works can only be seduced or surprised. Her art is spontaneous, immediate, it flows from her hands and soul into a creative continuum,” Prof. Emmanuele F. M. Emanuele – honorary president of the Fondazione Cultura e Arte  that promoted and organized the exhibition – concluded.