Salvatore Garau (born 1953) is an Italian artist from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Salvatore Garau
Born1953
NationalityItalian
EducationAccademia di Belle Arti di Firenze
Known forcontemporary art

Life edit

Garau was born in Santa Giusta, in the province of Oristano in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, where he graduated in 1974. In 1977 he became the drummer of the progressive rock group Stormy Six. After the group disbanded he became a visual artist. He had his first solo show in 1984.[1] He participated in the 50th Biennale di Venezia in 2003[2] and showed work at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in the same year.

In 2005 he painted an abstract work on a 200 m2 sheet of PVC, which was then hung to cover the scaffolding on a building in Corso Magenta in Milan.[3] For his installation Ichthys Sacro Stagno in Sardinia in 2006 he created large ponds on the floors of three churches in towns in the province of Oristano, which he then populated with fish from nearby ponds.[1][4]

In 2009 he had a solo show at the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain of Saint-Etienne, in France.[5]

Garau has work in the collections of several museums including the Museo del Novecento (formerly in the Civico Museo d'Arte Contemporanea),[6]: 383  the Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna and the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea in Milan.[1] His 2021 "intangible sculpture" Io sono ("I am") sold for €14,820 to a private Milanese collector through Art-Rite Auction House.[7][8][9] On the "nothingness" of the sculpture, Garau commented: "The vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that 'nothing' has a weight. Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us."[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c [s.n.] (2013). Salvatore Garau: Rosso Wagner Archived 2 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Milano. Accessed January 2016.
  2. ^ Paolo Manazza (16 June 2003).I giovani fanno il botto (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. Archived 19 December 2015.
  3. ^ Rosella Ghezzi (8 April 2005). Ecco come nasce un quadro di 200 mq (in Italian). Corriere della Sera, page 59. Archived 31 May 2014.
  4. ^ IX Festival Dromos (in Italian). Regione Autonoma della Sardegna. Accessed January 2016.
  5. ^ Lóránd Hegyi (2009). Salvatore Garau: Photogrammes avec horizon (exhibition catalogue, in French). Milano: Electa. ISBN 9788837069995.
  6. ^ Maria Teresa Fiorio (editor) (1994). Civico museo d'arte contemporanea (in Italian). Milano: Electa. ISBN 9788843549245.
  7. ^ Art-Rite Auction House, Salvatore Garau—Io sono, 2021.
  8. ^ Bamidele, M., "Italian Artist Salvatore Garau Sells “Invisible” Sculpture For $18,000", The Guardian, June 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Inskeep, S., "Italian Artist Sells Invisible Sculpture For Real Money", NPR, June 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Hollan, M., "Artist sells 'invisible sculpture' for $18K", Fox News, June 2, 2021.