Mattia Bosco Takes Over the Colosseum Archeological Park in Rome

Mattia Bosco (Italian, b. 1976), at the moment has a Monumental Exhibition which is being held in the evocative spaces of the Temple of Venus and Rome, within the archaeological park of the Colosseum and one exhibition in Milan at WIZARD GALLERY.

In his contemporary sculpture, Italian artist Mattia Bosco seeks to create a synthesis between concept and form. The two combine with balance and harmony, bringing his unique, abstract stone sculptures to life.

From philosophy to sculpture

Mattia Bosco was born in Milan in 1976, into a family of artists. His father is a painter and his mother, an art restorer, taught him the gold leaf gilding technique, among others. Classical studies, in particular in the area of philosophy, led him to develop his own personal reflections with regard to artistic creativity and aesthetics. Upon completing his studies, he set himself up in a former artist’s studio in Milan, where he began working intensively in ceramic, the only material with which he was familiar at the time. He recounts: “I would say that no-one taught me to work in ceramic, but neither did I learn all by myself; it was the material itself that taught me how it wanted to be worked”.

However, sculpture in stone soon took the place of ceramic in his endeavours. While clay “welcomed” every gesture made by the artist, in a thoroughly permeable and passive manner, stone offered a form of resistance, “responding” to the sculptor’s every stroke, allowing him to initiate a genuine, formal dialogue with the material. It is thanks to this potential that lies within stone that the artist has come to understand the inseparability of form and material. In closely examining the stone, he realises that it is a potential sculpture, always leaning towards a certain form.

“Sculpture [in stone] follows form, in just the same way as plants follow the light. Plants sense the light; they do not create it: they recognise it and feed on it. And just as plants do not invent the light, the sculptor does not invent form; he finds it in objects and continues its process of formation.”

Kórai

From Friday, September 22, 2023, until Sunday, January 14, 2024, is the solo exhibition of Mattia Bosco (Milan, 1976) titled “Kόrai".

The exhibition project is curated by Daniele Fortuna and is promoted by the archaeological park of the Colosseum, the Atipografia art gallery, directed by Elena dal Molin, and ArtVerona. The exhibition is the result of the ninth edition of the Level 0 project, a format from ArtVerona 2021 that invited a selection of museums and private foundations to each identify an artist participating in the fair to promote within their future programming. Mattia Bosco, represented at the fair by Atipografia, was chosen by the archaeological park of the Colosseum to create this exhibition.

The exhibition project "Kόrai" comes to life through 12 marble sculptures specifically designed for the spaces of the Temple of Venus and Rome, the largest temple of ancient Rome, inaugurated in AD 136 and clad in precious marbles from all over the empire, which were plundered over the centuries and are now only partially preserved. Mattia Bosco reintroduces these precious marble materials into new forms within the architecture of the Roman Imperial era, within the remains of the ancient temple. In deep resonance with the genius loci, he aims to evoke the sensation of something repressed resurfacing, of ancient inhabitants returning in different forms but still revealing, through their way of inhabiting space, a sense of belonging. Marbles like Cipollino, Portoro, red Collemandina, Paonazzo, Fiordipesco, and Carrara white – once columns, intricate floors, and wall coverings – reappear here as sculptures, in a material and temporal continuity that connects the past, present, and future. Sustainability is a fundamental element in the artist's practice. Bosco creates his sculptures using stones and rocks discarded during the extraction process because they lack a suitable shape for commercial use.

Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, Rome

September 22, 2023 - January 14, 2024

The exhibition is included in the admission ticket to the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum and can be visited during regular opening hours.

Opening hours:

From September 1 to September 30: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

From October 1 to October 28: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM

From October 29 to February 28: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

GROUP SHOW AT WIZARD GALLERY