Tresoldi: from Etherea to the Basilica of Siponto

Edoardo Tresoldi is a contemporary Italian artist, born in 1987.

After completing his studies, he moved to Rome where he began working in the film industry, but he almost immediately turned to sculpture.

The Absent Matter

His works, all sculptures made of metal mesh and thus conceived as “absent matter,” are known internationally.

So great is Tresoldi’s fame and artistic reputation that he was already included, in 2017, in Forbes‘ list of the thirty most influential artists under 30 in Europe.

Tresoldi, through his sculptures, proposes a heterogeneous vision of the arts and uses architectural structures to make them a true key to understanding the surrounding landscape.

Basilica of Siponto

The Basilica of Siponto is perhaps Tresoldi’s most famous work, created in 2016 and still considered a visionary project today.

The Basilica, located in the eponymous archaeological park, is a faithful reproduction of the early Christian basilica that once stood in the same place.

The work, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, is a perfect example of contemporary art made available to the ancient.

Thanks to the use of metal mesh, the Basilica of Siponto appears to be projected into space.

Etherea

In 2018, on the occasion of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Tresoldi created the work Etherea, later exhibited in China and in Rome in 2020, where it was adapted to better interact with the gardens of Villa Borghese.

Etherea consists of three basilicas influenced by Baroque and Neoclassical styles, incorporating elements such as columns, pediments, and domes. All made from galvanized welded mesh, a material favored by Tresoldi.

The work remained in Rome until December 13, 2020, during the Back to Nature. Contemporary Art exhibition, and only the smallest structure was displayed.

The artist’s intent, who has stated that he was inspired by the Norwegian architect and critic Norberg-Schulz, is to create a space that serves as a filter for understanding the landscape, an unlimited space that surrounds man.

Etherea, with its three basilicas of different sizes, constitutes a path where the viewer becomes a means of understanding the work, adapting to the space defined by the artist.

Moreover, thanks to the effect created by the transparency of the metal mesh and the volumes of the sculptures, the distance between the viewer of the work and the sky varies.

Recently, another work by Tresoldi, titled Sacral, has also been installed at the Mar di Ravenna.