Ora ïto’s first exhibition at Podgorny Gallery, Grammatology, Part One, retraces the grammar of his volumetric language which constitutes the essence of his practice.
Line, circle, square, rectangle… Ora ïto’s works are composed with the most elementary geometric forms. Made of black or colorful aluminium plates, fixed in a composite white base, they decline his formal vocabulary element by element. The mineral and geometric sobriety of the plates together with their vivid monochromy pave the way to a modernist purity and a pop detour – the two faces of Ora ïto’s visual universe.
These forms without function, to twist the modernists’ saying “Form follows function” with their minimalist roundness and clear lines, are silhouettes evoking both digital and material interfaces.
Through this body of works, Ora ïto articulates the alphabet of his own language to the viewer that he has been using for 25 years in industrial design and architecture.
While exploring and participating in the emergence of a 21st century’s new aesthetic, he retranscribes our contemporary era where the boundaries between the physical and digital world are constantly shifting and evolving.
The exhibition bears witness to a new era in which the boundaries between design, architecture and art are melting away, giving way to boundless creativity, in which every shape, every color, and every line tells a story. The exhibition extends off-site, with mural sculptures presented at the historic Lavoir (Washhouse) at the entrance to the village of Saint-Paul de Vence, adjacent to the Colombe d’Or.
Text by Emmanuelle Luciani
Off-site at the Lavoir of Saint-Paul de Vence
The Lavoir (Washhouse) of Saint-Paul de Vence was built in 1850 and is situated at the entrance of the village between the Place du Jeu de Boules and the Colombe d’Or. At a time when households had no running water, it was a useful meeting place for washerwomen and locals alike. Ora Ïto’s three works in the Lavoir recall its original function through their round shape and gradient blue shades. Their roundness evokes sensuality and a kind of reverie in which water becomes the heroine of gentleness and purity. Besides, in ancient times, water has always been used to purify human beings, rejuvenate their form and create an opening in their emotional state.
Through this opening, Ora Ïto animates the waters of the soul with his fluid purity. His works become unifiers and renew the links between the intimate space of the Podgorny gallery opposite the historic Lavoir and the village’s public space, where residents andvisitors interact on a daily basis. With the subtlety and imagination of a dreamer or a poet, Ora Ïto moves from the water’s surface to the earth’s surface and reinvents both the water components and himself as a creator of predilection.
Text by Anastasia Mitrogogou
Grammatology, Part One
May 15 – July 15, 2024
Podgorny Gallery
Place de Gaulle, 06570 Saint-Paul de Vence
Hors-les-murs au Lavoir
@podgornygallery
@ora_ito
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