Trophy

Trofeo is part of Pascali’s Finte sculture series, his “fake” or “feigned sculptures.” Drawing upon his early professional career in set design, Pascali made the works in the series by stretching white-painted canvas over skeletal structures of wood. The sculptures included animal forms as well as plants and natural environs. The artist explains, “... what interests me is this light thickness that forms the sculpture. That’s the sculpture. It’s the make-believe.”

The title refers to hunting trophies and thus shows the artist’s often playful attitude. The references to ambiguous animal forms combined with the artificial whiteness of the surface and stylization of the wooden structure give the work of art the resemblance of a toy. Engaging both nature and artifice, Trofeo exemplifies the ambiguity that is characteristic of Arte Povera.

Unfortunately, due to Pascali’s untimely death at the age of 32, the artist’s body of work is relatively small, making this a very special work.