Hera Group presents Carlo Valsecchi Gasometro M.A.N. n.3
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From 01/02/2019 to 31/03/2019
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (the national art gallery of Bologna), V. Belle Arti 56
Tuesday to Sunday
10.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m.
The Hera Group is promoting Carlo Valsecchi's "Gasometro M.A.N. n.3" project, on display from 1 February to 31 March 2019 at the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna in the Salone degli Incamminati.
In an entirely new and original view, Carlo Valsecchi’s fourteen photographs tell the story of the iconic gas holder’s metamorphosis throughout the reclamation and restoration works sponsored by the multiutility. Far from any archaeological intent, Valsecchi's work presents the gasometer’s structure as a living organism in continuous transformation and not as an inert testament to an industrial past.
In addition to the free exhibition, the project is complemented by a publication curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, published by Silvana Editoriale.
Carlo Valsecchi's work stems from a continuous and direct dialogue with the places he encounters from time to time in his projects, whether they be architecture, an urban landscape, heavy industry, highly technological industry, or the infinity of nature. His analogical and geometric-analytical approach to large-format photography - a medium that distinguishes all of Valsecchi's production - leads him to break down and recompose subjects, to bring them back to life with a completely new appearance.
“With this exhibition - comments Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive President of the Hera Group - we wanted to draw attention to the distinctive element of our recovery operation, which goes beyond its merely conservatory aspect and gives the city a structure capable of actively interacting with its physical and emotional landscape. An important artist like Carlo Valsecchi - continues Tommasi - thanks also to his experience at an international level, has been able to grasp this aspect in depth, allowing us to represent through art the spirit with which we put ourselves daily at the service of our territories of reference”.
The project is part of ART CITY Bologna.
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Sala degli Incamminati
via Belle Arti 56, Bologna
Open to the public
from 1 FEBRUARY to 31 MARCH 2019
from Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Free admission
Saturday 2 February special opening until 11.00 p.m.
for the ART CITY White Night event
The poster of the Gasometro M.A.N. n.3 exhibition (2525 Kb - PDF)
Carlo Valsecchi – BIOGRAPHY
Carlo Valsecchi was born in Brescia in 1965. He lives and works in Milan.
In 1992 his work was selected for the Venice Architecture Biennale exhibition, and he later held exhibitions in Italy and abroad. He has exhibited his photographs in galleries, public and private institutions and events around the world, including the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, New York (1999); Fondazione Peggy Guggenheim, Venice (2000); Galerie 213, Paris (2001); Studio Casoli, Milan (2001); Semaines européennes de l’image – Le bâti, le vivant, Luxembourg (2002); GAMeC, Bergamo (2003); Guido Costa project, Turin (2006); Triennale di Milano (2006); Paris Photo, Statements, Paris (2007); Kunstforum, Vienna (2009); Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne (2009); Walter Keller Gallery, Zurich (2009); Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan (2011).
His exhibitions also include: San Luis, MaRT – Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto (2011); the 54th Mostra internazionale di arti visive of the Venice Biennale, Italy Pavillion, Norman Foster selection, Venice (2011); Subverted, Ivorypress, Madrid (2012); Landmark: the Fields of Photography, Somerset House, London (2013); Mare Nostrum, Walter Keller Gallery, Zurich (2013); Museo della Merda, Piacenza (2015); Industria, oggi, MAST Foundation, Bologna (2015); No Man Nature, Palazzo Da Mosto, Fotografia europea, Effetto Terra, Reggio Emilia (2015); Fotografie dell’Emilia-Romagna al lavoro, MAST Foundation, Bologna (2016); Sviluppare il Futuro, Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini, Biennale di Fotografia dell’Industria e del Lavoro, Bologna (2017); Civilization: the way we live now, MMCA Seoul, South Korea (2018).
In 2010, the book Lumen (Hatje Cantz, 2009) was given the silver award at the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis, the German photo book award of the year.
Bologna's Gasometer - HISTORY
The "Gasometro Man n. 3" has characterised Bologna's skyline for almost a century. It is located inside the headquarters of the Hera Group, one of the largest Italian multiutilities, that provides waste management, water and energy services.
In operation since 1930, it was used until 1984 to store gas used in the city. It is 52 meters high with a diameter of 30 and is considered a jewel of industrial architecture in the heart of the capital of Emilia. It was built using the so-called "dry" construction method, at the time very widespread abroad but not yet tested in Italy. The gasometer consists of a 16-sided prismatic sheet metal casing that rests on a concrete base. An iron cap with a ventilation dome covers its top. Outside, three walkways are linked to each other by a staircase that wraps around the building.
The last coal distillation furnace was shut down on 7 October 1960 and for a few years gasometers were used to store the new methane-based natural gas. In the 1980s, with the introduction of new storage facilities, the gasometer was definitively decommissioned. By restoring it, the Hera Group has made it the absolute protagonist of its headquarters area, which was recently inaugurated after major modernisation and redevelopment works.