Fontana in galleria

Since the beginning, the research of Franco Guerzoni was up-to-date and full of original ideas, even if in line with the most interesting experiences developing in Italy and abroad. Indeed, considering visual arts, that period was particularly rich and full of innovative solutions on both the conceptual and expressive level.

This project, the fourth donated by the author to MoRE, dates back to a period between 1968 and 1969, when Guerzoni, then in his early twenties and at the end of his education, abandoned the traditional painting technique and started doing researches in the avant-garde, especially around Duchamp.

He was spontaneously attracted by the most important international researches, such as the American Land Art and the Italian Arte Povera. These interests reflect in some of his works, not always realised, such as this project donated to MoRE. The concept behind the project was quite simple: Guerzoni wanted to bring inside the closed space of an art gallery a natural occurrence, the rainbow. The project included, as shown in the sketch, a field sprayer machine in the center of the room. It would have sprayed water, playing with the artificial light effects.

The author, thinking about that installation – also with the collaboration of Luigi Ghirri, friend and companion of many art adventures – took some photographs in the countryside. These study series of water splashes investigated the nature of the rainbow and its visual perception. These conceptual photographs are the only evidence of the project. It remained unrealized due technical difficulties but also because it was more theoretical than realizable. The theme to bring the nature inside the culture was particularly strong in that period; Guerzoni itself thought to produce a black rose, as symbolic synthesis of the two elements.
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