Fondazione Merz, Turin
Fondazione Merz presents the first solo exhibition in Turin of acclaimed Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa. El Palacio de las Tres Historias, curated by Claudia Gioia, consists of a series of large-scale site-specific installations, photographic works and videos specially commissioned for the exhibition. El Palacio de las Tres Historias continues Garaicoa’s ongoing exploration of the themes and architecture of the city as an ideal space and symbol of failed realities. For the first time, this project draws its inspiration from the city of Turin.
“Carlos Garaicoa looks at cities, architecture and underlying dreams, those cast aside and those that can still be realised. Just as Havana constituted a starting point for investigating the meaning and possibilities of our society, so Turin becomes a metaphor of contemporaneity through the words, images and history of an industrial utopia, transforming itself and becoming something that still needs to be understood.” Claudia Gioia
Garaicoa is drawn to Turin, to the economic, social and political transformations that began with the industrial crisis and their impact on the urban landscape. The artist focuses on different aspects that characterise the city: the industrial, the rationalist, and the re-using of abandoned buildings that become a new possibility for a re-imagined society.
Opening October 30, 2017, 7 p.m.
Curated by Claudia Gioia
image: Carlos Garaicoa, from the series "Edificios parlantes (La lógica de todo argumento creerse indiscutible)," 2011. Photo: Oak Taylor-Smith.