Dear Friends,

In 1997, while the Capitoline Museums were being renovated, some of their ancient sculptures were moved into Rome's first power plant, the Centrale Montemartini, for a temporary show among the steam turbines and diesel engines. It was so popular that it never closed.

I grew up visiting the Centrale Montemartini, and during high school and university I gave a few tours there. What kept drawing me back was always the same moment: an asymmetrical draped figure in front of a dark iron engine. Against the hard steel, the marble cloth seemed to soften and move. The machines made the stone feel lighter. I think everything I make now began there, in that contrast between the weight of industry and the lightness of carved stone.

Winged Victory comes from that memory. Its folds are sliced into the marble with a diamond saw, then rounded with a diamond caper tip. Up close they read as cloth. Step back and they become ribs, the structure of a wing.

Like Superposition and Shell & Sea, it’s part of making marble light. Here, the lightness is cut into the stone, and the steel structure I build holds it up, the way the old machines framed the statues at the Centrale Montemartini.

I construct each steel structure myself and apply acid to make it rust. I love the patina: deep oranges and browns against white marble.Rust is time made visible, a much faster version of what the marble holds. Once it’s right, I seal it, so the rust stays on the steel and off the stone.

Winged Victory is asymmetrical and organic, inspired by bone, and it’s meant to be seen in the round. At 25 centimetres (just under 10 inches), it sits on a table or shelf and is easy to move, so it can change with a room. Turn it, and it becomes a different piece.

Winged Victory is available, along with the other new pieces. The price list is attached below. If one stays with you, reply to this email.

Next summer in Bari, Puglia

I'm excited to share that next summer I'll be part of Nessuno si salva da solo ("No one saves themselves alone"), a group exhibition at Spazio Murat in Bari. I was invited by the Italian curator Augusto Ficele, as one of eight Italian artists under 40.

Augusto is a journalist for Il Quotidiano del Sud and hosts L'arte da ascoltare on InBlu radio, as well as Mischia, a new podcast from the contemporary art space Spazio Supernova in Trastevere.

Spazio Murat is funding almost all of the show, and we're raising the rest: transporting the work to Bari and one night's stay for the artists at the opening. If you'd like to be part of it, here's the GoFundMe.

Thanks for reading,
Warmly,

Isotta