simone cametti 4.500 GRADI KELVIN

Francesca Antonini Arte Contemporanea is pleased to present Simone Cametti's (Rome, 1982) third solo show, entitled 4.500 Kelvin Degrees. A few weeks after the vernissage, Ncontemporary gallery in Milan will also host a special intervention, titled “OH BE A FINE GIRL, KISS ME” in its Project Room (opening Wednesday, April 29th).

The artist presents a complex project, specifically conceived for this occasion, summarising the most recent phases of his research about the substance of materials and the dialectic between nature and artifice. On display a selection of marble sculptures and light installations, set up in the recently renovated spaces, strictly connected with each other and with the environment hosting them. Pivoting around actions, processes and resulting transformations - which are at the core of his practice - Cametti investigates light and matter, on the basis of one of the primary notions of quantum physics, according to which “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. Matter does not exist, everything is vibration!" (Max Planck, 1918). The title of the exhibition refers to the unit of measurement of the hue of the light, and in particular to the value of natural light in its maximum visibility, which is at an intermediate level between the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum: the radiations with wider and narrower wavelengths. Red and blue are the chromatic extremes the artist applies on Carrara marble slabs, concealing and at the same time enhancing the preciousness of the veining of one of the most classic and refined sculptural materials. Choosing Splendid Gold granite, furthermore, Cametti focuses on the physical characteristics of a peculiar material, composed of large percentages of quartz and therefore characterized by an unusual crystalline structure. It is precisely this distinctive geometric texture that suggests the formalization of the sculptures, originated from a combination of hexagonal and dodecahedral modules and installed on the wall to question the boundaries between painting, installation, sculpture and design. The lighting of the exhibition is entirely entrusted to the intervention of the artist, who aims at recreating "his own light", starting from the industrial medium of the fluorescent lamps, but making them shine on the value of 4.500 Kelvin degrees, so as to, again, act on the thread between nature and technical manipulation. The large installation in the main room, together with the work at the entrance - in which Cametti used helium, the gas that powers solar combustion – refers to some previous experimentations, in which, as here, the light element was the trait d’union between different languages and media.

The exhibition has been realized thanks to the generous contribution of Lavagnoli Marmi, Ronchis (UD).

We also thank Antrox Lighting Solutions, Ancona.

Simone Cametti was born in 1982 in Rome, where he lives and works. The most recent solo shows include Media Montagna, curated by U. Palestini, at Spazio K, Palazzo Ducale, Urbino (2018) and TINA, One Space One Sound 12, curated by Anna Cestelli Guidi and Claudio Libero Pisano, at Auditorium Parco della Musica di Roma (2017). Cametti took part in numerous institutional group exhibitions, including Border crossing, curated by L. Adragna, presented by Dolomiti Contemporanee, Palermo (2019) and the exhibition 5 artisti in 5 atti, at the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Percorsi nell’arte, Viterbo (2017). In 2019 he was among the artists selected for the Grand Tour d’Italie Award and in 2012 he was the winner of the Terna Award, for the Gigawatt section.