Time Machine

“In the works of Paola Valenzano, the colours of the elements, in their natural sequence, patiently and harmoniously inlaid, emerge from the blue, whether Ocean or Sky. One circle, then another, and then another. Fragments detached from a larger Mandala. Paola in her works speaks mystically of the One that is All, that is empty, that is Full at the same time. She speaks of constant circular movement and at the same time of permanent stillness. Her works evoke eternal symbols that in their universality remind us of the origin of civilization and of the sacred elements: Sun Moon Wheel Eye Rainbow.

The work Time Machine – realized through an original, skilful use of the art of carving and a careful coating in coloured fabrics – recalls ancient female themes of artisan workmanship, the concrete and material dimension of manual and textile work around which a universe rich with meanings that transcends mere materiality or simple decorative end in itself is composed. What is surprising is that the feast of colours, the circles, the eye-catching ovals, refer to sacred but at the same time ironic Totems. In T-Mach even the serious dimension of the sacred and the mystical seems to be transcended, and you find yourself seeing wheels, and gears, a soft flower where you would least expect it projected into a playful space, in a puzzle of colours, in a mosaic of full and empty spaces where the eye looses itself in the eye and seeing is being seen…”

Text by Caterina di Gasbarro