Lara Almarcegui

The first Italian solo show of Spanish artist Lara Almarcegui (Zaragoza, 1972) opens Thursday 10 November at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere in Rome. The show, with free entrance and open until 7 January 2012, is part of a yearly programme of activities organised by Vincenzo de Bellis, curator in residence at the foundation for 2011.

Lara Almarcegui’s show includes two distinct and complex projects, made especially for this exhibition. The two works represent the elaboration of a more basic project shown in 2010 in Vienna. Although different from one another, both works investigate the city of Rome, highlighting the artist’s interest in the relation between architecture and urban context, and between what happens on the streets and inside the exhibition spaces.

Guide to Wastelands of the River Tevere, 12 Empty Spaces Await the 2020 Rome Olympics (2011) is the title of her first work. The project, that has already been carried out in other capitals, is based on the idea of creating a map of the abandoned areas of the city. In Rome, Lara Almarcegui principally focused on the vast area north-east of the Tevere; this area is part of the urban development plan for the river park where the 2020 Olympics infrastructures will be located. At the Fondazione Pastificio Cerere the artist will present the outcome of her research: a series of guides, resulting from her on site studies, along with dossiers, and slide projections.

The second work, entitled Construction Rubble of Pastificio’s exhibition space (2011), is an installation made of piles of construction rubble like those used years ago to build the present exhibition space in the San Lorenzo borough. With this work the artist reflects on the history of the Fondazione’s premises, so deeply bound to the city of Rome, and addresses the potential of such elements and their possible future destination.

Lara Almarcegui is also the fourth protagonist of Postcard from…, the project promoted by Fondazione Pastificio Cerere and developed by Marcello Smarrelli, to bring art into the urban context. This initiative, realized in collaboration with A.P.A. - Agenzia Pubblicità Affissioni, is curated by Vincenzo de Bellis. For each edition of Postacrd from… an artist is invited to design a 400x300 cm poster, like those used on advertising hoardings. The image the artist chooses is put up onto a structure in the Pastificio Cerere courtyard and in other ten A.P.A. structures for the two following months, with a fourteen day turnover. The list of all the hoardings is updated on the foundation’s website www.pastificiocerere.it. Lara Almarcegui’s poster is an ideal continuation of the Guide to Wastelands of the River Tevere, 12 Empty Spaces Await the 2020 Rome Olympics project, and shows one of the images of her research. Temporarily shown on advertising hoardings, the poster represents the natural conceptual extension of the artist’s research, underlining the importance of preserving and protecting those public spaces waiting to be used.

Lara Almarcegui lives and works in Rotterdam. She studied Fine Arts at the University of Cuenca, and then at Ateliers 63 in Amsterdam. Her works have been shown in several public and private spaces, including: Sala Rekalde, Bilbao (2008); Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela (2008); Centre of Contemporary Art, Malaga (2007); the FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon (2004); INDEX, Stockholm (2003). Among her recent solo shows are: Secession, Vienna (2010); Ludlow38, New York (2010); Art Basel - Art Statements with the Gallery Ellen de Bruin Projects (2010).

Her recent group shows include: Taipei Biennale (2010); 3a Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2009); 7a Gwangju Biennale (2008); 5th Lofoten International Art Festival, Svolvaer (2008); Greenwashing: Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2008); Sharjah Art Biennial 8 (2007); 27a San Paulo Biennale (2006); Biacs2, 2a Seville Biennale (2006); Momentum, Nordic Festival of Contemporary Art, Moss (2006); Offentlig Handling (Public Ac)t, Lunds Konsthall, Lund (2005).

Lara Almarcegui
Kurator: Vincenzo de Bellis