Sotto le stelle, 1985-87
GPO-0594
Under the Stars
Medal display case, fragments of photographic reproduction, gilded nails
Medal display case 34 x 44 cm, overall dimensions variable
Private collection, Milan
A medal holder in gilded wood – with blue velvet inside studded with gilded hooks – is surrounded by a multitude of small gilded nails scattered across the wall. The medal holder is associated with the dissemination of the photographic fragments of gilded frames, scattered from the inside of the medal holder outwards, gradually thinning out towards the edges of the visual field (the inside fragments are coloured, the outside ones are black and white).
The title establishes a visual paradox between reality and imagination, recalling the starry sky in the constellation of hooks, nails, and fragments.
The work is part of a series of thirteen variants, made between 1985 and 2025, which are distinguished by the presence of one or more medal holders, their dimensions, and, above all, the intervention that is associated with them (GPO-0556, GPO-0563, GPO-0594, GPO-0595, GPO-0606, GPO-0615, GPO-0632, GPO-0717, GPO-0718, GPO-0891, GPO-1096, GPO-1099, GPO-1182).
| • | Oltre la linea dell’avanguardia. Architettura, testo, contesto, edited by E. Calvi (Milan: Guerini Studio, 1992), repr. p. 30. |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 2 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 594 p. 608, col. repr. |
