ROME
Stefano Arienti
S.A.LE.S.
Born in northern Italy in 1961, Stefano Arienti is known for works in which he alters and modifies existing printed matter - perforated posters, partially erased photographs, paperback books with their pages folded like concertinas. He gives mundane items a new but damaged aura. In this installation of 13 images printed in various color schemes and hung in wallpaperlike formation, Arienti has set out to change our perception of the gallery space itself, playing with our idea of the hallowed artwork, the decorative background, and the anonymous setting.
On the surface of photographic film that depicts shop-window displays, urban views, and trees in a park, Arienti makes intricate cuts, marks, and scratches using knives, pins, a flame, and a miniature drill. He then uses a computer to print each image on canvas, using pastel colors to heighten the sense of false light.
Each concentrated act of vandalism overrides the importance of what is represented in the photo. In the soft-focus snapshot of a group of plastic dinosaurs in a toy shop, for example, Arienti's technical maltreatment renders them virtually unrecognizable. Sometimes, thanks to the jagged, skittery scratches, it even seems as though the spaces around the vague images of a car or a vase crackle with static like the air just before a fierce electrical storm strikes.