Painted terracotta sculpture
135x55x38 cm
2004
NOTES: Signed and dated: “M. Paladino ’04”; Edition 1.
PUBLICATIONS: E. Di Martino (curated by), Paladino. La scultura 1980 – 2008, Skira, Geneva–Milan, 2009, ill. in cat. p. 440.
PROVENANCE: Bottega d’arte ceramica Gatti, Faenza; Galerie AB, Agnes Aittouares, Paris; private collection.
Discover the video of the artwork (right-click on the link and select “open link in another browser window”) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9cpitTAQvAs
Outwitting time
Compact, solemn, and androgynous figures, steeped in history and memory. They could be warriors, philosophers, or soothsayers. Paladino’s “Witnesses” are an iconic compendium of Mediterranean archaism. The artist draws on a heritage of seven or more millennia of artistic exploration, ranging from Mesopotamian and Egyptian forms to the Daunian stelae, from the Mothers of Capua to the Greek kouroi, from the Warrior of Capestrano to Lombard and Carolingian sculpture, all the way
to the works of Modigliani and Arturo Martini. It is as if Paladino were defying time, with a work that is both ancient and contemporary, speaking to us in a language that is both atavistic and relevant today, challenging us, delving into our deepest selves, and leaving us with more questions than answers, immersed in mystery.