Elisabeth Scherffig's Observatorium at LABS Bologna Explores Micro and Macro Structures

For the first time, Bologna hosts a solo exhibition by German artist Elisabeth Scherffig, titled Observatorium, at LABS gallery. Curated by Angela Madesani, the show highlights Scherffig's ability to capture systems within architectural images, nature, and light effects on surfaces. The exhibition traces her artistic evolution from the Vitrea series, focusing on light and shadow on glass, to recent drawings of the Alveare, the UK Pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan. Through rigorous drawing, Scherffig compares urban and natural metamorphosis, placing side by side the intertwining branches of a tree forming a wall-like structure reminiscent of Renaissance churches, and the same tree reflected in a water well. At the gallery's center are two sculptures of human heads, both casts of the artist's head: one ethereal in organza with porcelain dust fragments, the other solid and gold-leafed, reflecting on art's effect on the mind. A special role is given to maps; the exhibition includes a 2013 map of Bologna in seven elements, drawn in graphite on three layers of Swedish paper, each offering a different perspective: medieval map, geological map, and a bird's-eye view. The order of layers varies in each element, highlighting different perspectives to explore the city's geography.