Quello che avanza
Site-specific installation created for Polytropon Arts Center
March 1 – June 21, 2026 | h 11:00 – 19:00
Exhibition
Free
Quello che avanza [what remains, what is left over] is an environmental installation that takes shape as an active residue, as what remains after a process but which, precisely for this reason, continues to generate meaning.
A series of 144 cyanotypes created between 2014 and 2017 transform the real space into a perceptual field within which the passage of time leaves its traces, just as the river glides steadily past the windows of Polytropon Arts Center. In dialogue with the cyanotypes, the works in the ARIE series introduce an additional dimension: that of unstable matter, suspended between weight and lightness. Made with feathers, pigments, plexiglass and crystal, the works offer themselves as still frames of an invisible movement, surfaces crossed by colour and light that change with space and with the gaze.
A series of 144 cyanotypes created between 2014 and 2017 transform the real space into a perceptual field within which the passage of time leaves its traces, just as the river glides steadily past the windows of Polytropon Arts Center. In dialogue with the cyanotypes, the works in the ARIE series introduce an additional dimension: that of unstable matter, suspended between weight and lightness. Made with feathers, pigments, plexiglass and crystal, the works offer themselves as still frames of an invisible movement, surfaces crossed by colour and light that change with space and with the gaze.
The title of the installation alludes to a dual direction: what remains from the manufacturing processes but also what comes forward thanks to them. Alfredo Pirri's artistic intervention as a whole turns its gaze to process and memory – but it does so without nostalgia, as if each residue contained within itself a trace of a possible future.
Quello che avanza is on view during Polytropon Arts Centre opening times.
Quello che avanza is on view during Polytropon Arts Centre opening times.
Alfredo Pirri
Alfredo Pirri (Cosenza, 1957) is one of the most important Italian artists on the contemporary scene. His practice spans painting, installation, architecture, and interventions in public space.
His work explores the relationship between perception, memory, and space, transforming exhibition and urban environments into experiential settings that question the balance between vision and physical presence.
Often characterized by reflective materials, unstable surfaces, and temporary architectures, Pirri’s works invite the public into immersive experiences, prompting reflection on the status of the image and the nature of shared space.
He has created numerous site-specific projects in major international museums and institutions, including Palazzo Boncompagni, Bologna (2025); GNAMC, Rome (2025); Galleria Tucci Russo, Turin (2024); Galleria z20 Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome (2022); Auditorium del Maggio Fiorentino, Florence (2021); Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps, Rome (2018); MACRO, Rome (2017); Museo Novecento, Florence (2015); London Design Festival (2015); Palazzo Te, Mantua (2013); Project Biennial D-0 ARK Underground Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013); Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2006); Havana Biennial (2001); French Academy Villa Medici, Rome (2000); MoMA PS1, New York (1999); Walter Gropius Bau, Berlin (1992); and the Venice Art Biennale (1988).
His work explores the relationship between perception, memory, and space, transforming exhibition and urban environments into experiential settings that question the balance between vision and physical presence.
Often characterized by reflective materials, unstable surfaces, and temporary architectures, Pirri’s works invite the public into immersive experiences, prompting reflection on the status of the image and the nature of shared space.
He has created numerous site-specific projects in major international museums and institutions, including Palazzo Boncompagni, Bologna (2025); GNAMC, Rome (2025); Galleria Tucci Russo, Turin (2024); Galleria z20 Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome (2022); Auditorium del Maggio Fiorentino, Florence (2021); Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps, Rome (2018); MACRO, Rome (2017); Museo Novecento, Florence (2015); London Design Festival (2015); Palazzo Te, Mantua (2013); Project Biennial D-0 ARK Underground Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013); Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2006); Havana Biennial (2001); French Academy Villa Medici, Rome (2000); MoMA PS1, New York (1999); Walter Gropius Bau, Berlin (1992); and the Venice Art Biennale (1988).