Gianni Pettena — Radical Works — Mercier & Associés Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: May 27 → July 30, 2011

Artist, architect and designer, Gianni Pettena, born in 1940, is one of the most important figures of the Italian radical movement who centres his work on the aspect of « thinking » rather than that of « doing ». Critic and teacher, he is the author of L’Anarchitetto, published in 1972. His work is at the confluence of art and architecture.

On the occasion of the exhibition, a monumental and original construction of Achipensieri (Archithoughts) will be created. This project in the form of an anamorphosis of elements free in space, will invite the spectator to take a more conscious view of architecture and its environment which Gianni Pettena defines as a « lesson in spatial perception ».

Gianni Pettena, Projet Archipensieri, 2001-2011, 0

The gallery will also exhibit a rare edition of Rumble (Edition Gufram, 1967), a large, multi-functional couch, a sort of micro-environment whose singularity comes from the fact that it adapts itself to its surroundings and not to the human being.

A selection of installations, videos, furniture, designs and photograhs will present Gianni Pettena’s experimental works, notably those from his stay in the United States where he was invited as artist in residence during the 1970s (the Minneapolis performances and the Salt Lake City trilogy).

Gianni Pettena, Clay House, 1971

Gianni Pettena, Maison Elba, 1975-2011, 0