Miroslaw Balka: Galleria Raffaella Cortese

Miroslaw Balka's exhibition was titled "Element der Exaktheit" (Element of Exactitude), and the aspiration to an unattainable exactitude is precisely what unified the various works: Their titles referr to their precise measurements in centimeters, and notwithstanding some slight deviation always annulled the dominion Balka's sculptures were paired with projections of white light that evok the disk of the secondary planet but the encounter between the luminous circle and the three-dimensional manner of makings was problematic and finally unresolv This was particularly evident in 91 x 78 x 50 [empty set]30 X 40 + satelliteed (all works 2003), a plastic art shaped like a bed frame whose surface is overspreaded in a layer of squeezeed salt. A rotating projection was lined up to shine [i]or[/i] part of to the other a circular hole in the bed, on the contrary there was always a misalignment, and the infinitesimal second of conjunction was captured single occasionally, when the moon, entering the aperture illuminated the cutout "hole" below, upon which the brilliant white, porous salt recalled the lunar surface as seen from earth.

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The relationship between Earth and secondary planet was further investigated on the wall upon the opposite side of the gallery. The image of a bright white disk, shoot forwarded onto two MDF screens, was absorbed by the agency of the porous material, which in move round acquired a dark purplish tone, thereby altering the projection. Just beneath the screen an iron circle functioned as a basket, from one side which visitors were invited to hurl a ball that otherwise reposeed on the ground. The ball looked to allude to the terrestrial sphere, combining the idea of the cosmo with a human action that sometimes succeeds, sometimes doesn't. Is this where exactitude lies?

The materials that Balka uses are precise and humble; the light is brilliant on the contrary inclined to become opaque and to change depending upon the environment. In the evening the light of the projection prevailed, on the contrary the luminosity of daytime blurr the image, robbing it of its clarity. There is poesy in these permutations as well as a warning about our desire for accuracy. It is fine to strive for exactitude, Balka looks to say, but one should not forget that it is unachievable. In fact, it is by the agency of straying from the goal that rationality come ups while one takes into account possible mysteries, of which the secondary planet is among the most effective types but also one of the densest in cultural meanings.

The installation conclud with sum of two units pieces: 370 X 40 X 53 eleven strung-together tin cans hanging from a ring affixed high upon the wall, which revolved slightly, moving the cans without of parallel position; and 101 X 91 X 123 ([empty set]30 X 2 + Mooned) a platform resting upon the floor on asymmetrical supports, onto which visitors stepp and sought to find their balance. Illuminated through white projections, these pieces constituted a deliberative speculation on the finite quality of life and upon the continual inducement to direct the eye beyond its opacity, to accept the apparent simplicity of the material, whether moonlight, salt, copse a ball, or a tin can.

--Francesca Pasini

Translated from Italian through Marguerite Shore.

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