Art Club #11 Piero Golia

The performance by Piero Golia (Naples, 1974; lives and works in Los Angeles) stems from an intervention carried out by the artist at the Villa Medici in 2002, during the exhibition La Folie de la Villa Medici, to which it adds and, in a way, completes. In 2002, the sound of a march from the far end of the Bosquet gradually reached visitors’ ears, but was abruptly interrupted before the fanfare, which was to play the piece, could reach them and appear in their field of vision.

Today, another group of musicians, still to the sound of the fanfare, moves through the Bosquet to appear before the spectators on the esplanade in front of the Grande Loggia, where they are as if on the balcony of a theater. After crossing the Loggia, the musicians lock themselves in the Grand Salon, and the sound and action stop, only to resume again, taking the audience by surprise. The musicians emerge from the Grand Salon and, passing through the Grande Loggia, reposition themselves on the esplanade, which has just been illuminated by artificial lights. The rhythm of the piece intensifies until it becomes incessant when, unexpectedly, a tractor appears, from which fireworks shoot off, forming the inscription to be continued. As the colorful flames fade, the sound also diminishes in intensity, until the band silently drives off into the Bosquet from whence it came. The spectators then leave the Loggia, both incredulous and amused. Once again, the action remains suspended, leaving its conclusion to another hypothetical encounter suspended in time and space.