Matthias Odin's First Italian Solo Exhibition 'CIMA' at FRENCH PLACE Explores Memory Through Industrial Relics

Matthias Odin is presenting his inaugural solo exhibition in Italy at FRENCH PLACE gallery in Milan. Titled 'CIMA' (Cartellino Identificazione Materiale Anonimo), the show runs from March 12 to April 19, 2026, at Via Carlo Goldoni 64. The exhibition features new works created during Odin's residency in Milan, where he discovered a decommissioned weapons factory that ceased operations in the late 1980s. These industrial objects, repurposed as minimal sculptures, suspend their original function to exist between abstraction and memory. Odin's practice involves research, collection, and direct engagement with sites and materials, drawing from urban exploration, Situationist psychogeography, and the Stalker group's promenadology. The works employ détournement techniques to create new semantic spheres, exposing ideological aspects of images and repurposing them for political critique. Specific pieces include 'Electtromecanica Orobica' (2026), 'IM650074 G' (2026), 'Omba G185' (2026), 'Luce Reparto' (2026), and 'CASSA N.1' (2026), which incorporate found technical drawings, photographs, objects, glass, and lighting elements. The exhibition explores industrial archaeology's dialogue with urban history and Bergsonian memory concepts, presenting objects as modern ruins that transition from utility to contemplation. The museum-like installation uses glass to create detachment and light to suggest residual energy, positioning objects between artifacts and relics. Odin's approach references near ready-made aesthetics while addressing local Milanese memory and global conflict history, examining themes of bureaucracy, infrastructure, and control within industrial systems.