Neither Here nor There, University of Pittsburgh Studio Arts Faculty Exhibition. Curator: Ellen Larson. Brew House Arts, Pittsburgh, PA.
An object which has been ‘enfranchised’ as an art object, becomes an art object exclusively, from the standpoint of theory, and can only be discussed in terms of the parameters of art-theory, which is what being ‘enfranchised’ in this way is all about.
-Alfred Gell (1998)
Open Sesame is an installation of small-scale sculptures produced and hoarded in the past few years, some carved in stone and plaster, others modeled in clay.
Some of you may have seen images of these sculptures on Instagram or in person when I carry the portable hand-sculptures in my pockets and bags to local coffee shops and bars in Pittsburgh. They keep me company–as fidgets, page holders, and social bridges. Like small performative acts of resistance to death and art institutionalization, these public yet intimate moments of life place my work literally in the hands of others, fulfilling my urgency in and for sculpture.
The figural presences dwelling within my sculptures embody sites of identity and transition: ithyphallic figures, ambiguous ones with dual sexuality–akin to a contemporary Janus in a process of androgenization.
Through these casual encounters with strangers in unassuming places, my sculptures suggest moments of social interaction where physical proximity and touch participate in matter and its atmospheres, bringing together for a few fleeting moments a community of invisible, silent stories.
This incantation, Open Sesame, incidentally unlocks the door of a local art gallery for my figurines to be shared amongst colleagues and friends for the first time.
Paolo Piscitelli 