Artists

Cantaluppi, Alice

If Treasures Could Talk, 2022
(c) Alice Cantaluppi; Foto: Alice Cantaluppi

Light forms soft contours, white clouds, fine lines in various shades of green to red-brown. Emerald green mists with blackish-blue inclusions draw themselves in, cast plays of light onto the surroundings, into the interior. Jadeite, chrome, chlorine, calcium, iron, and light poured into stone. The material appears simultaneously hard and soft, cold and warm, opaquely mask-like and translucent.
Nine hundred ninety-six sitting, crouching, standing and lying creatures, avian creatures, bovine creatures, dragon and horse creatures, double and half creatures - Alice Cantaluppi inherited from her father a multifaceted collection of complex origin. She regards herself as the custodian of these hundreds of figurines, the acquisition of which began with a tea merchant in Lörrach and was ultimately conducted over eBay classified ads. Criterion: energy. Her father was convinced that the figures had a task, that they had inherent healing powers, that they could transform and raise consciousness.
Despite Cantaluppi’s years-long efforts to clarify the provenance of these objects, little is known about the contexts in which the figures were actually created—except that most made their way to Switzerland from China. Cantaluppi’s piece presents her research and notes, as well as excerpts from conversations with researchers about possible origins. Museums and universities offer material analysis and historical expertise, both of which have yet to be fruitful in the case of this collection. Fragments and excerpts in the exhibition serve to both contextualize and reveal contradictions. Do these objects have an original social- and ritual significance or are they, not least, handicrafts that - given the reference to twentieth century fantasy films - were produced to appeal to the twentieth-century tourist market?
Attempts at historical classification meet with questions of responsibility: with respect to the collection, with respect to her father, with respect to potential creators and owners, with respect to their significance in different contexts, their history of impact, and the testing of their possible current scope of effectiveness. Lines of relation and connection such as those between daughter and father, between people and things, or things and their fields of resonance sit at the heart of Cantaluppi’s insights, guiding her process of questioning and reappraising this inherited collection.

Text: Alice Cantaluppi, Jandra Böttger; englische Übersetzung: Amy Patton

Light forms soft contours, white clouds, fine lines in various shades of green to red-brown. Emerald green mists with blackish-blue inclusions draw themselves in, cast plays of light onto the surroundings, into the interior. Jadeite, chrome, chlorine, calcium, iron, and light poured into stone. The material appears simultaneously hard and soft, cold and warm, opaquely mask-like and translucent.
Nine hundred ninety-six sitting, crouching, standing and lying creatures, avian creatures, bovine creatures, dragon and horse creatures, double and half creatures - Alice Cantaluppi inherited from her father a multifaceted collection of complex origin. She regards herself as the custodian of these hundreds of figurines, the acquisition of which began with a tea merchant in Lörrach and was ultimately conducted over eBay classified ads. Criterion: energy. Her father was convinced that the figures had a task, that they had inherent healing powers, that they could transform and raise consciousness.
Despite Cantaluppi’s years-long efforts to clarify the provenance of these objects, little is known about the contexts in which the figures were actually created—except that most made their way to Switzerland from China. Cantaluppi’s piece presents her research and notes, as well as excerpts from conversations with researchers about possible origins. Museums and universities offer material analysis and historical expertise, both of which have yet to be fruitful in the case of this collection. Fragments and excerpts in the exhibition serve to both contextualize and reveal contradictions. Do these objects have an original social- and ritual significance or are they, not least, handicrafts that - given the reference to twentieth century fantasy films - were produced to appeal to the twentieth-century tourist market?
Attempts at historical classification meet with questions of responsibility: with respect to the collection, with respect to her father, with respect to potential creators and owners, with respect to their significance in different contexts, their history of impact, and the testing of their possible current scope of effectiveness. Lines of relation and connection such as those between daughter and father, between people and things, or things and their fields of resonance sit at the heart of Cantaluppi’s insights, guiding her process of questioning and reappraising this inherited collection.

Text: Alice Cantaluppi, Jandra Böttger; englische Übersetzung: Amy Patton

If Treasures Could Talk, 2022
(c) Alice Cantaluppi; Foto: Alice Cantaluppi