Amalia Pica's catachresis sculptures at Fondazione Memmo in Rome

Argentine artist Amalia Pica (born 1978 in Neuquén) presents 'Quasi Catachresis' at Fondazione Memmo in Rome, exploring the rhetorical figure of catachresis—extending a word beyond its proper meaning. Using found objects from Roman flea markets like Porta Portese, custom glass sections, and tools, she assembles hybrid sculptures that oscillate between play and precariousness. The works incorporate elements of danger, such as sharp saw teeth and fragile balances held by thin wires. Pica drew inspiration from local puppet-making traditions and Collodi's Pinocchio, with wooden or glass spheres functioning as bodily joints suggesting potential movement. On the external windows, twenty-one English idioms appear—like 'shoe tongue,' 'hammer head,' 'chair back,' 'eyes of the potato,' 'elbow of the pipe,' 'eye of the needle,' and 'heel of the club'—which materialize in the sculptures, creating semantic cross-pollination. The exhibition runs at Fondazione Memmo, curated by Giorgia Basili.