WEM EDITORIAL #9 DANIELE SIGALOT
Superficial (2019)
Deception, suspension, illusion. The new series Superficial (2019) by Daniele Sigalot plays with the ambiguous nature of perception creating an ephemeral balance between natural elements in a combination full of chromatic contrasts.
“I’m curious about the human approach to appearance”
Daniele Sigalot
Presented on his past solo show “Una sfida al Nulla” at The Contemporary Cultural Center at Tagliaferro Palace in Italy (2021), the photographic series Superficial (2019) perfectly embodies the ironic and provocative language of artist Daniele Sigalot. Since his first exhibition in 2006, his 40+ exhibits around the world have seen his oeuvre spanning diverse media such as text, aluminum, neon art, and photography. Notable shows have been held at La Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome; MoAD – Museum of Art and Design, Miami; Bernheimer Contemporary, Berlin; Mayoral Galeria, Barcelona; Gallerie degli Uffizi, Firenze; Museum La Triennale, Milan; Reggia di Caserta, Caserta; Palazzo Reale, Naples; Museo Archeologico, Potenza; MAR – Museo D’Arte, Ravenna; Palazzo Ducale, Genoa.
Balancing between performance and photography, the “Superficial” series presents a series of shots taken in the sea of the Gulf of Naples, Italy. The artist plunges into the water and holds up a smoke grenade with one hand, whose smoke disperses into the air as a colorful cloud, suspended between sky and sea. Through a careful use of chromatic contrasts and light, the colored clouds capture the viewer’s gaze and distract him or her from the element that generates them.
The smoke grenade, usually associated with a call for help when used at sea, takes on a different meaning and becomes part of an ephemeral, superficial gesture, just as the title suggests. It also embodies the artist’s interest in the perceptual investigation of human nature, which is often limited to the appearance and surface of reality rather than the investigation and analysis of it. A provocative gesture, which in the playfulness of the performative action, invokes lightness with provocation and self-irony.
“Most likely those who will buy this artwork will do so because the color of the smoke gum coincides with the color of the sofa”
Daniele Sigalot jokes, confirming his irreverent attitude toward the art world and his own role as an artist.
As in many of the artist’s works, Superficial captures, and questions the subject about reality through illusion and perceptual suspension, without waiting for any answer. An absurd game, “a challenge to nothingness,” to quote the title of the exhibition where the series was presented.
Surprise and deceive the mind are the only rules of this game that thrives on misunderstandings, both semantic and semiotic. To really understand the works, it is enough to recover one’s playful dimension and not take too seriously a reality that acclaims and makes art of anything, as long as it is incomprehensible. His works are often bittersweet experiences: irreverent messages that make one smile but never laugh.
