Endgame

ENDGAME: an open-air contemporary art show

This unprecedented show is curated by Luia Corsini, in collaboration with contemporary art historian Massimo Mininni. It will take place in a park of approximately four hectares located on the banks of the Argentario Sea. Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name, the exhibition echoes some of its themes, namely that of the volatile and cyclical nature of men’s relation to the Earth. This peculiar relationship brings people to becoming increasingly aware of the positive impact that a slower lifestyle, a traffic-free sky, quieter streets and of cleaner waters, might entail for our world.

“The paradox, such as many others, is sad. We, humans, depend on nature and feed on it. While we cultivate and celebrate it and turn to nature for a foothold, inspiration or a way to survive, we also end up taking it for granted, destroying it for our own benefit. As a society, we have reached a crossroads, or if we haven’t yet, we are certainly getting closer to it; Either we slow down and adopt a more conscious pace more in tune with the Earth’s, or we continue to accelerate, without thinking, moving increasingly distant from nature, until we are faced with an Endgame.” –  Luia Corsini.

Collaboration is this project’s core concept and builds on a conversation between man and nature, artist and medium. It is also an intercultural dialogue revealing the various ways in which men picture themselves in relation to their Environment. Esteban Fuentes de Maria, Carlos Garcia-Noriega, Fernando Ocaña and Bosco Sodi from Mexico. Agnes, Federica Di Carlo, Desideria Corsini, Henryk Corsini, Luia Corsini, Marzia Gandini, Baldassarre Mario, Charlie Masson, Pietro Pasolini, Malù dalla Piccola, Benedetto Pietromarchi, Annie Ratti, Tristano di Robilant, Giada Ripa and Alessandro Twombly from Italy. Sijn Cole from Belgium and Sol Bailey Barker and David Worthington from the United Kingdom are the participating artists for this project.

While Luia Corsini and Fernando Ocaña let the garden and natural elements give life to their works, Bosco Sodi introduces his homeland with piles of Oaxacan clay in a Mediterranean-like setting. Similarly, Alessandro Twombly works with bronze, and considers that “fingers give form to the intensity and energy of inert matter, permeating places and symbols part of the human excursus”. Tristano di Robilant, on the other hand, interprets Endgame through a nostalgic perspective: his architectural sculpture, “Shade Shelter,” offers refuge for quiet contemplation.

It is as if this heterogeneous group of artists were playing some kind of chess game in which they each express their own interpretation of the Endgame through displayed artworks, while simultaneously communicating their different backgrounds.  The Orto Botanico Corsini of Porto Ercole is a place that enables us to acknowledge and explore historical events shaping our current reality.

The artistic itinerary is open from July 17 until September 30 2021, in the Orto Botanico Corsini of Porto Ercole – Monte Argentario.
The ENDGAME itinerary takes approximately 60 minutes and will be accessible on afternoons every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the 30th of September. It is the first time that a botanical garden, a site typically devoted to plant conservation and the preservation of rare species, welcomes such an important and international artistic event.

With the collaboration of Galeria Hilario Galguera.

Read more about Sijn Cole