LIBERTY HOUSE

by Pietro Ruffo

CHIESA MONTI, TUSCANY

16TH NOVERMBER 2014

To mark the occasion of the San Martino, known as the Italian Indian Summer, Alteria Art is pleased to present Pietro Ruffo’s installation entitled Liberty House (2011) in the barn of the house Chiesa Monti, near Siena, Tuscany.

In this setting, Liberty House will be one house immersed inside another which then encapsulates a rich forest interior created by the artists’ hand in watercolour which is then cut out and collaged for this illustrious effect. On one of the walls a verse by Lebanese poet, painter and philosopher Khalil Gibran is superimposed in relief:

"And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed."

This highly worked interior is a personal space of meditation and reflection on the idea of individual liberty to which Ruffo dedicates most of his work.

To coincide with this future installation an etching has been created which shows the trees to the side of the barn that Ruffo sketched on his trip to Chiesa Monti earlier this year. Aquatint has been used to create atmosphere in the sky whilst a cut out has been made in the centre of the image which represents the barn and echoes Ruffo’s signature style whilst he experiments with the medium of etching which is new to him. The title of the etching is Torno A Casa, In Una Casa Spero Sia La Mia which, when translated means, I return to a house that I hope is my house.

The etching is a limited edition of 25.

Check our Editions page for more details about the works.

Born  in 1978, Ruffo works and lives in Rome.

In 2009 he won the Premio Cairo Award (Italy) and in 2010 he was awarded the New York Prize, bestowed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His artist residencies have included working at The International Studio and Curatorial Program, ISCP Centre, New York (2010), the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Italy (2011), the Nirox Foundation, in Johannesburg (2012), The Fountainhead Residency, Miami U.S. (2013). During is research fellowship Ruffo’s aim was to investigate ideological structures of thought that have influenced politicians in different part of the world. Concentrating on contemporary philosophers theories relating to freedom, the artist considered the idea of true freedom and the role that individual liberty might play within this. Ruffo’s practice reflects his intense social and moral concerns, as well as his stance on specific ethical issues. Working with media including drawing, watercolour and sculpture.