Koen Vanmechelen's Hybrids Confront Old Masters at Uffizi
In Florence, the Galleria degli Uffizi launched its 2022 exhibition season with 'Seduzione,' a showcase by Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen, born in 1965, and curated by Eike Schmidt. This exhibition presents thirty artworks alongside iconic Renaissance pieces, delving into themes of life and death, as well as the human and divine, through Greco-Roman archetypes. Vanmechelen's creations, crafted from marble, steel, bronze, and glass, include the 'Temptation' series, which features fifteen busts of deities and heroes adorned with egg fragments symbolizing gestation. Notably, 'Cosmopolitan Fossil' reimagines Adriano Cecioni's 'Bambino con Gallo' by converting a rooster into iguanas. The display concludes with Medusa heads inspired by Caravaggio and Vanmechelen's self-portrait 'Ubuntu,' highlighting universal connections.
Key facts
- Koen Vanmechelen opened the 2022 exhibition season at Galleria degli Uffizi
- The solo show is titled 'Seduzione'
- Thirty works are placed throughout the museum, alongside Renaissance masterpieces
- Vanmechelen created the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project and Labiomista with Mario Botta
- The 'Temptation' series includes fifteen busts with egg fragments on their napes
- 'Cosmopolitan Fossil' reinterprets Adriano Cecioni's 'Bambino con Gallo' with iguanas
- Two Medusa heads in black and white marble reference Caravaggio's painting
- The self-portrait 'Ubuntu' uses Murano glass and Bantu philosophy
Entities
Artists
- Koen Vanmechelen
- Mario Botta
- Adriano Cecioni
- Caravaggio
Institutions
- Galleria degli Uffizi
- Labiomista
- Artribune
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Genk
- Belgium