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Jorge Macchi simulates a 'False Autumn' of a new paradoxical reality at Galleria Continua
False autumn, 2024, Jorge Macchi (1,100 tree leaves/ puzzle pieces)
Image: Courtesy of Jorge Macchi and Galleria Continua
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Jorge Macchi simulates a 'False Autumn' of a new paradoxical reality at Galleria Continua

At its San Gimignano space, Continua presents a solo show by the Argentine artist, with works challenging certainties and subtly penetrating our consciousness.

by Galleria Continua
Published on : Jan 13, 2025

"In a world where art serves as a bridge between the tangible and the intangible, [Jorge] Macchi's work testifies to the power of visual expression, chance and the enduring influence of personal experiences. His art captures the ephemeral and the transient, inviting us to reflect on the fragile boundaries that define our existence," notes the press release of an ongoing show at Galleria Continua / San Gimignano, Italy—False Autumn by Jorge Macchi.

On view from September 14, 2024 - January 26, 2025, the Argentine artist's solo exhibition is composed of sculptural art pieces of various sizes, watercolours, oil paintings as well as installations which "recreate the conditions for a new paradoxical reality that, through the assertion of artifice, upends our certainties and infiltrates the folds of consciousness…Macchi's work creates powerful visual fictions; his pieces are artifacts that explore the functioning of vision and perception," the art gallery relays. The works on display are situated at the pivotal intersection of two opposites, in that grey zone between the authentic and the fictional forms of reality.

"Paradox is the suspension of meaning. It is one form of humour. It is one of Borges' favourite tools. It is the word that defines much of what I do. The archer and the arrow, Zeno of Elea's aporia, the scene where an arrow aimed at a target never reaches it because the distance between them is infinitely divisible, it is a paradox that has been with me forever" says the artist, who was born, and now lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

False Autumn is the piece that lends its title to Macchi's art exhibition. In one corner of the gallery, over a thousand leaves are scattered across the floor. As the title suggests, these are not genuine autumn leaves; they are green, not the familiar yellow or red fall hues. Each leaf has a unique shape, resembling a puzzle piece. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these 'puzzle pieces' are, in fact, real leaves, each meticulously cut to form a distinct shape. This technique disrupts the natural harmony between a leaf's outline and its veins, prompting the viewer to consider what image might emerge from assembling the pieces.

The term 'false autumn' also refers to a phenomenon that has been affecting parts of Great Britain and many European countries, including Italy. Due to extreme droughts and intense heatwaves, nature has gone into survival mode, causing autumn foliage to appear months earlier than usual. Reddened, dried leaves litter the ground, branches are already nearly bare, and the soil grows increasingly arid, creating a stark and worrying reminder of environmental instability.

Rorschach #1 and Rorschach #2 are site-specific murals painted in the gallery's corners. These contemporary artworks immediately recall the symmetrical patterns of Hermann Rorschach's iconic psychodiagnostic test. However, the images Macchi creates on the walls are not simple reflections; there is no direct transfer of form or colour from one side to the other. Instead, the artist constructs these forms using two symmetrical paper stencils. What emerges is the suggestion of a sheet, with walls that appear as if they’ve been folded like paper, evoking an unsettling sense that the solid, unyielding walls of the building could suddenly bend or alter their structure.

The interplay between reality and artifice is revisited in Dos banderas, where one part of the diptych consists of four sheets from the same notepad, while the other features sheets from different pads. A ribbon, painted with watercolour and tempera, seems to bind the sheets together.

In Déjà vu, Macchi intervenes with a restoration and polishing process on half of a table that has been exposed to the elements and sunlight for two years. The final piece is a hybrid of two sections: one, weathered and aged from outdoor exposure, and the other, preserved in the studio, creating a fictitious yet unified whole.

Confesión is a cardboard box originally housing a 50-inch Smart TV, with all sides carved into a repetitive cross pattern that evokes the perforated metal of confessionals. No longer containing any object, the perforations transform the box into a visual tool, offering a fragmented glimpse of its interior and what lies beyond.

Between 1864 and 1933, thousands of glass bottles were cast into the sea, each containing a document that recorded the precise time and location of its release. This was part of an experiment to study surface marine currents. In his Drift Bottles series, Macchi reimagines this concept using plastic bottles, similar to those commonly distributed for mineral water and various beverages. Instead of a message, however, Macchi places a miniature sailing ship—meticulously crafted by an artisan in Buenos Aires—inside each bottle.

"Macchi's bottles stimulate our imagination, evoking striking images: the messages in bottles—romantic, scientific, or playful—that have traversed seas and history over time; the world enclosed in a plastic bubble; the hands of an artisan crafting precious objects; and the growing plastic islands in our planet's oceans," the project's description notes.

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