ART CITIES:Mexico City-G.T. Pellizzi

Born in Tlayacapan, Mexico, Giandomenico Tonatiuh Pellizzi better known as G.T. Pelizzi studied literature and philosophy at St. John’s College and graduated from The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union. His practice spans installations, sculpture, painting, each project attempts to engage audiences with political, financial, and market systems. Since 2011 he has focused on his own work, where he creates pieces from traditional building materials.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros Archive

For his first solo exhibition in Mexico, “I Transport”, G.T Pellizzi transforms the main gallery at Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros into a monumental art shipping crate, using the aesthetics of art packaging as his model. “I Transport” measures 9.5 x 8 x 3.5 m, with the peculiar feature that it is subdivided into 171 separate and unique pieces. The exhibition alludes to the ontological construction of knowledge, history, memory and aesthetics. The piece strives to sublimate the creative act into one of the most commonplace processes by which the globalization of art occurs: the transportation of artwork, artists, discourse and cultural experience. This enormous container strictly complies with all technical requirements for international shipments, including the fumigation processes for all wood boards and plywood, as well as having the whole interior covered in ethafoam padding. Each of the pieces comprising the installation have been conceptualized within the framework of the Western artistic canon, resulting in sculptural and graphic objects arranged specifically for the context of the exhibition space itself, including its architecture. In the form of a giant shipping crate, “I Transport” hyperbolizes the contents of the museum itself, in this case, the work stands as a foil in contrast with the monumental nature of the murals of David Alfaro Siqueiros that are housed in the Sala de Arte Público. After clearly stating his position from a macrohistorical perspective, the artist turns his focus toward the everyday practices that define his strategies. Like his exhibition “The Red and the Black” at Y Gallery in N. York, the artist adopts a patently pragmatic approach, imbuing each of the 171 elements that compose this installation with a monetary value that will enable the museum to rebuild its deteriorated budget. The value of each art piece corresponds to the total sum of the value of all materials used to construct the monumental shipping crate, the monetary wages paid to all professional workers involved in the fabrication process, plus the costs of insurance, storage, maintenance, museum management, transport, local transportation, institutional services, public relations and events. After assessing the value of the artwork, an exchange will be transacted with the participation of art collectors and philanthropists, who will in turn become part and parcel of the work and the art museum’s new economy.

Info: Curator: Taiyana Pimentel, Assistant Curator: Mariana Mañón, Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Tres Picos 29, Colonia Polanco, México City, Duration: 4/2-15/5/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.saps-latallera.org