QUANTUM MAN: THERE IS NO FUTURE WITHOUT MEMORY

The task of the artist is to encourage deeper thought, often without expecting answers: it is a continuous search for connections, relationships and responsibilities.
The thrust behind this is that constantly different point of view that develops as perspective themselves change. Research by Venice-born artist Gianfranco Meggiato brought him to the Valley of Temples in Agrigento to communicate with the site and find his own “contemporary man” among the signs left by ancient civilizations. The sculptures of today meet the architecture of yesterday. Metal alloys defying known forms, blocks of stone that have defied the centuries. And there’s more: trees, nature, shadows and light. A deep, delicate and magnetic dialogue crossing Space and Time. A hymn to Man, creativity and, even before that, to what lies behind – before the rational, the known and the visible – which guides the hand of the artist and people involved in quantum research alike. It is Man who enables his own enlightenment, who gives space to intuition by becoming an instrument and interpreter of the absolute.

The exhibition by Gianfranco Meggiato Quantum Man: there is no future without memory, curated by Daniela Brignone, opens to the public on Wednesday 28 July in the Valley of Temples Archaeological Park until 4 January 2022. Promoted by the Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity and the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, organized by MondoMostre, the personal show also envisages an installation at the entrance to the Pietro Griffo Archaeological Museum [inauguration: Tuesday 27 July at 19:00, preceded by a presentation in the Fazello Meeting Room of the Museum]. A small surcharge (€2.00) is envisaged for entrance tickets to the Valley of Temples archaeological and landscape site as of 1 August.

“Gianfranco Meggiato’s ‘Quantum Man’ invites us to take a journey into ourselves,” said the Regional Councillor for the Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Alberto Samonà, “which is also an encounter through the four elements discovering a universe that goes beyond the rational to set Man in a cosmic dimension. The dialogue between contemporary and ancient here in the Valley of Temples is imbued with a new meaning that spans the centuries to rediscover the roots of the relationship between Man and his deepest essence, in an existential dynamic that goes beyond time.”
“Gianfranco Meggiato succeeds with great ease in such a difficult undertaking as entering into a “sentimental relationship” with the site of the Valley of Temples without being overwhelmed by its grandeur,” said the Director of the Archaeological Park, Roberto Sciarratta. “We are delighted to host this dialogue and inter-play between ancient and contemporary, thereby bringing Meggiato’s works closer to those of other great artists already present in our own times.”

Thirteen monumental works in all, including four designed specifically for this venue and exhibited to the public for the first time: Lo Specchio dell’Assoluto – The Mirror of the Absolute opens the overall path in front of the Temple of Juno, Uomo Quantico – Quantum Man is the title work for this personal show located in front of the Temple of Concordia, Sfera Aquarius – Aquarius Sphere and Quanto di Luce – Quantum of Light are both installed in front of the Temple of Zeus. An exhibition itinerary that becomes a journey through images and assonances: Gianfranco Meggiato sets out in search of his quantum man as the master of his own future, made up of perfect solids and voids. Meggiato traces a path, reflecting his own image in spheres, shiny folds and soft scrolls assembled using non-noble materials: this is how Uomo Quantico – Quantum Man came into being [it is cast in painted aluminium, with stainless steel spheres]. It was assembled by the artist himself without a preparatory drawing in front of the Temple of Concordia. The energetic Soffio della Vita – Breath of Life [cast in painted aluminium, with chrome-plated brass spheres] ‘stretches’ the Arch of Heracles. Sfera Aquarius – Aquarius Sphere [painted aluminium casting, with stainless steel spheres] as the protective shell of beauty and aspiration to immortality. Inasmuch, brothers Castor and Pollux are transformed into works suspended between the living and the dead, while Taurus brings us into contact with Zeus, where everything began.

“Meggiato,” said curator Daniela Brignone, “composes an ideal journey inside one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, tackling the memory of the past and the enigmatic perspectives of the future to reflect on Man in search of himself. These works open up an inner world around which revolves a repertoire of mythological characters and symbols that become an allegory of Man’s living space. The Quantum science which inspired the artist reveals mystery and cosmic connections.”