Willy Verginer: Eyes Wide Shut | GLR24
Italian artist Willy Verginer presents his latest series of sculptures at the Galerie LeRoyer in Montreal on May 30th, 2019 for an exceptional exhibition: "Eyes Wide Shut".
Willy Verginer is an Italian sculptor, living and working in Val Gardena. Verginer creates hyperrealist wood sculptures, drawing inspiration from the arresting nature surrounding him and the fragility of our environment. The work engages with ecological and environmental issues we are faced with in our contemporary world. His work often explores the ambiguous relations between Man and Nature, and more importantly our responsibility as humans to respect, protect and preserve the natural world. Verginer has been enticing collectors around the globe for decades with his striking life-sized sculptures; his pieces are often characterized by a systematic use of acrylic paint that is applied in opaque linear bands. Subsequently, Verginer’s sculptures oscillate between realism and surrealism, forcing the viewer to contemplate the underlying message while also insinuating a sense of playfulness and irony.
The installation Acqua Alta will be unveiled during the opening reception of the exhibition Eyes Wide Shut. It is part of a long-term project by Verginer, whose first edition was presented at the Venice Biennale in 2011.
The scene depicts a series of figures standing along a long pier. These bathers, rendered with striking realism, appear to be partially submerged in the background of the gallery. Their presence evokes a network of references and reflections: seemingly relaxed in their posture, yet with their gaze fixed attentively on a mysterious point, they sink into silence as they observe something before them, though their purpose remains unknown. This “blindness” is intentional—either because of the sunglasses they wear or because they choose not to truly see what is happening around them.
Verginer’s bathers inhabit a space where the water itself is absent yet can be imagined, much like contemporary society, whose apparent stability conceals a profound uncertainty stemming from the lack of tangible points of reference. Circumstances are constantly shifting; everything is uncertain, and anything remains possible.
The underlying theme of the work is a reflection on climate change, the environment, global warming, and ocean pollution, as well as on our tendency to remain passive spectators in the face of warnings about disasters and upheavals that we would rather ignore. These seemingly expressionless vacationers resemble metaphysical mannequins. Representing different generations and arranged in descending order of height, they form a cross-section of humanity across the stages of life.
