Adrian Tranquilli

Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome
Fino al 11 Maggio

In his latest exhibition, titled Evidence, Adrian Tranquilli returns once again to theme he first started to explore in Futuro Imperfetto (1999). This time round his analysis of the anthropological and social considerations goes deeper and he brings the work to a conclusion. Cinema, strip cartoons, and sci-fi novels form Tranquilli’s main frame of reference in these latest works. They are combined, however, with themes of a religious and artistic nature in which saints and martyrs, heroes from books and film, special effects, the miraculous and the illusionary, come together in dark, neo-gothic environments. The complicated nature of the themes Tranquilli considers is complimented by his strong interest in technical experimentation that involves video, sculpture, digitally reworked drawings and designs, photography, and sound.

The highlight of the exhibition is This Final Cut. The work is almost hidden in a narrow space behind a wall and is arrived at following the exhibition route that amounts to an initiation ceremony. A homage to Yves Kline, the work consists of three panels made using an elaborate technique of digital print on polyester, whose sequence of blue, black, and red creates an almost “hypnotic” effect. In one image, Superman can be seen falling through space in a half-lotus position. By dint of his magic powers he has not fallen, but the outcome is still uncertain. In another piece, a defeated Batman lies in his mother’s lap, adopting the position of Christ in a charcoal version of Rosso Fiorentino’s Pietà. An ectoplasmic Spiderman in bright red emerges from a dark background.

On the wall facing this is White, a design printed on polyester, which depicts a white, evanescent Christ from whose hands and feet emanate rays of light. Dominating the entire exhibition is a video clip of the head of a cow that shows signs of having BSE. Transforming the appearance of the beast into that of a medieval warrior by strapping a helmet to its head, the video focuses obsessively on the eye of this sad icon of contemporary society. In the center of the gallery is the work from which the exhibition takes its title: a polyurethane sculpture of a praying Superman.

The background music, created in collaboration with Oscar Greco, creates a mystical link between the characters who, removed from their own worlds, clash with each other in a desperate search for a new identity. In these works, Adrian Tranquilli asks us to take a step back from the inauthentic reality to which we have become accustomed, forcing us to reflect on our role as the creators of myths, which serve solely to hide our existential anguish.




Marcello Smarrelli
Translation by Rosalind Furness