Buffaloes in the park, the Lioness in the castle – time.news

2023-05-31 22:51:10

Of STEFANO BUCCI

Italy takes center stage in the capital of Eire with the sculptures of the Bolognese artist: «Bufale are animals that I have recreated several times over the years»

From the Upper Paleolithic of the Caves of Altamira to Raphael, from Guercino to Ceruti, from Giovanni Fattori to Andy Warhol. Animals constitute a genre of “representation art” perpetually suspended between naturalism, science and fantasy, a constant source of inspiration for the beauty of their shapes, their colours, their lines, their movements.

Until April 2024, animals are still the protagonists of a exhibition in the park of Lucan House, the residence of the Italian Ambassador in Dublin. It’s buffaloes in bronze of David Rivalta in dialogue with the Lioness which the same artist, at the same time, proposes in the square of the Dublin Castle. Buffaloes and lionesses are united by that same “craftsmanship” (intrinsically made in Italy) which is manifested in the worked bronze, in both cases, of the Fonderia de Carli in Turin. To complete the journey, a horse appears at the entrance to Lucan House, this time in white fiberglass, again signed by Davide Rivalta, which – explains the artist – is in turn a tribute to Irish culture».

The exhibition
Grazing in Lucan
inaugurated on 31 May (in the presence of the Irish Minister of Cultural Heritage Patrick O’Donovane and Undersecretary Vittorio Sgarbi) proposes, in two locations
a dozen works by Davide Rivalta (born in 1974 in Bologna, where he lives and works) from the series buffaloes. These are bronze sculptures that will populate – or rather, graze, as the title of the exhibition itself recalls – the park of Lucan House. The exposure en plein air comes to coincide with the Republic Day on June 2nd and further defines the commitment of the Italian Embassy itself, led by Ruggero Corrias. A team effort, which also involved the Italian Cultural Institute (directed by Marco Gioacchini), this time supported by the close collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome (directed by Cristiana Collu) and with the director of the Office of Public Works at Dublin Castle, Mary Hefferman.

Why the buffalo? «Because – explains Rivalta – buffaloes are animals that have always involved me a lot and that I have recreated several times over the years, fueling a sculptural cycle that has now reached 14 works, the latest of which are now exhibited at Lucan House». AND an animal for Rivalta «ungraceful, but also endowed with a calmness and a firmness that make him unique. Of Asian origins, the buffalo arrived in Italy in the Lombard age, to subsequently become a native species: it became Mediterranean and, in particular, established itself as a symbol of Italian culinary culture».

A symbol that does not clash in the context of the Italian Embassy in Dublin: “With this exhibition – explains Ambassador Corrias – Dublin translates the commitment of Minister Antonio Tajani to leverage Italian culture as a tool for foreign policy”. For this reason, works of great visual impact and with a powerful language have been chosen, such as the sculptures of Rivalta, who has been dealing with subjects of the animal world recreated in bronze, aluminum or fiberglass in large dimensions. Materials that amplify the majesty of the forms and the enigmatic feral nature, restoring an aura of freedom to the subjects.

From Italy, to the Republic of Ireland, to the world. The animals of Rivalta, born from a fascination of the artist and initially intended to explore «only» forms and attitudes of their nature, they end up becoming the fragment of a larger and more complex discourse around the universe.

The exhibition

The «Grazing in Lucan» exhibition is open until April 2024 in Dublin. In the park of Lucan House, residence of the Italian ambassador in Dublin, sculptures by Davide Rivalta (Bologna, 1974) from the Bufale series are exhibited. Also on display is a Lioness (in Dublin Castle Square) and a Horse (in front of Lucan House) both by Rivalta. The Italian Embassy in Dublin, the Italian Cultural Institute, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome (directed by Cristiana Collu) with the director of the Office of Public Works at Dublin Castle have collaborated on the exhibition , Mary Heffernan.

May 31, 2023 (change May 31, 2023 | 22:48)

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