Ugo Schiavi

In installations of figurative sculptural fragments, Ugo Schiavi develops engrossing narratives and dramatic tensions between fiction and history, and strength and frailty. Schiavi takes his detailed casts directly from live models and figural public monuments; the physically demanding casting processes give his works an expressive spontaneity. His practice is an extension of his interests in collection and conservation; he carefully preserves accumulated layers of meaning from sites and ancient works to discover new contemporary correspondences.
Schiavi exposes the metal and fiber structures that support his fractured depictions of human hubris, bringing them back down to earth and revealing their essential vulnerabilities. (Recipient of the Prix Bernar Venet awarded by the Ville de Nice in 2011)