Stefano Arienti, Biblioteca, 2011–2012

Biblioteca (Library) is the title of the artwork by Stefano Arienti commissioned by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu for the 2011 Olnick Spanu Art Program and presented in 2012. It consists of over two hundred terracotta bricks representing books. The bricks display the covers of real books—all chosen by Nancy Olnick, Giorgio Spanu, and the artist—which reflect their cultural backgrounds. The artist, in collaboration with Fornace Curti in Milan, produced every single piece by hand, using a technique that allows for the transposition of the covers onto the clay through a fretwork made on uncooked bricks.

Biblioteca oscillates between installation and sculpture. At first glance it seems a mere heap of bricks, and gives the impression more of a depository than of a library. It possesses the features of a space (a locus), and not those of an object, and can thus be considered an installation work. On the other hand, the importance accorded to volumes, the strong material aspect, and the peculiar process of realization all confer to the work a heavy artisanal quality, and evoke the sculptural. Biblioteca demonstrates at once a sedimentary and evolutive character. The use of bricks, together with the visual evocation of libraries and encyclopedias, creates a sense of solidity and durability. Installed outside, the bricks endure the passage of time, bearing witness to the effects that time itself will have upon them.

Medium and dimensions

229 individual terracotta bricks
each brick 15.75 x 11.8 x 3.35 in. (40 x 30 x 8.5 cm)

For information on the artist and the artwork please contact Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome, info@studiosales.it.