Vincenzo De Cotiis's latest installation at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in New York City is an immersive experience that dissolves the boundaries between design and art. "Je Marchais Pieds Nus Dans L'Étang" (I Walked Barefoot in the Pond) presents a serene yet restless atmosphere, evoking the duality of nature's beauty. By reimagining Claude Monet's late water lily landscapes through sculptural means, De Cotiis captures the essence of water and light, inviting viewers to slow down and appreciate its transformative power.
The exhibition consists of 50 unique works assembled into a single cohesive environment, which invites visitors to wander through an imagined landscape. With no fixed visual anchor or narrative, the installation's beauty lies in its subtlety, as it recreates the sensation of wading barefoot through a pond. De Cotiis's use of cast white bronze and hand-painted Murano glass creates an interplay of opacity and translucency, drawing attention to light's impact on our perception.
De Cotiis often explores memory, distortion, and transformation in his practice, and "Je Marchais Pieds Nus Dans L'Étang" is no exception. The sculptures appear as enigmatic creatures with surreal, skeletal stems, which shift with movement and proximity, exploring how memory and perception can be distorted or transformed.
The exhibition asks viewers to step out of the fast-paced urban environment and slow down, noticing subtle shifts in light and absorbing nuance. By recreating the sensation of a pond, De Cotiis invites us to reconnect with nature's transformative power, which often gets lost in our daily lives.
Through his distinctive sculptural language, De Cotiis contributes to current conversations around materiality and the future of sculptural practice. His approach to materials creates reflective surfaces and transforms imperfection into sources of beauty, suggesting that crafted objects can function as timeworn relics or visions of future worlds.
The exhibition consists of 50 unique works assembled into a single cohesive environment, which invites visitors to wander through an imagined landscape. With no fixed visual anchor or narrative, the installation's beauty lies in its subtlety, as it recreates the sensation of wading barefoot through a pond. De Cotiis's use of cast white bronze and hand-painted Murano glass creates an interplay of opacity and translucency, drawing attention to light's impact on our perception.
De Cotiis often explores memory, distortion, and transformation in his practice, and "Je Marchais Pieds Nus Dans L'Étang" is no exception. The sculptures appear as enigmatic creatures with surreal, skeletal stems, which shift with movement and proximity, exploring how memory and perception can be distorted or transformed.
The exhibition asks viewers to step out of the fast-paced urban environment and slow down, noticing subtle shifts in light and absorbing nuance. By recreating the sensation of a pond, De Cotiis invites us to reconnect with nature's transformative power, which often gets lost in our daily lives.
Through his distinctive sculptural language, De Cotiis contributes to current conversations around materiality and the future of sculptural practice. His approach to materials creates reflective surfaces and transforms imperfection into sources of beauty, suggesting that crafted objects can function as timeworn relics or visions of future worlds.