Artist Andrea Mastrovito (Bergamo, 1978) gains the eminent Ermanno Casoli Award, curated by Marcello Smarrelli; the prize has reached its XVI edition and has always been the symbol of the contamination between art and enterprise. The artist had already won the New York Prize back in 2007 and had been invited to exhibit in high profile museums, such as MAXXI in Rome, Museo del Novecento in Milan, Manchester Art Gallery and MAD in New York; thanks to his ground-breaking artistic research, he is known within the domestic and foreign contemporary art scene.
This Award edition introduces a new aspect: besides being included in the E-straordinario training program, the activities will be thoroughly carried out in the Ancona Angelini pharmaceutical plant. This is possible thanks to Fondazione Ermanno Casoli and M&D training company collaboration.
The aim is involving more than 100 Angelini workers, who will be asked to create a permanent artwork along with the artist. This artwork will be specifically conceived for their working place. Artist, employees, curator and trainer will collaborate during the different project steps – from its inception to its implementation – and will be working side by side as they create the artwork, which should be finished before the summer of 2016.
Mastrovito conceived this work by taking inspiration from medicine and pharmaceutics; he focused especially on the chemical process that turns active principles into the powders used for pharmaceutical goals.
The project hint arose from the artist observing the complex and long chemical processes through which active principle powders are obtained. Starting from a recent series of works, Mastrovito – together with more than one hundred employees – will engrave the walls of some specific places within the plant. A series of figures will be engraved through the pre-existing wall layers colors, unveiling a real space archeology in the stratification and in the passage of time. The powders that will be extracted from the walls will be collected and exhibited as a constitutive part of the final work. They will represent the “soul” of the engraved figures, their “active principle” and the strong relation with Angelini productive activity.
Starting from Mastrovito’s inputs, the employees will engrave the walls according to a FEC-consolidated methodology that includes the mediation of Piero Tucci, M&D Senior Partner; his role is an essential one to facilitate the relation between artist and employees and to turn the creative processes hints into behaviors useful to the enterprise activities. Every person involved in the educational activity will be an active part of a shared and collective artwork creation.
