Untitled (2017)

Salvatore Arancio’s work explores beauty and the sublime in nature. He is fascinated by the merging of myth and science, exploring the state of suspension between the real and the fictional through an emphasis on construction and staging. Playing with images, shapes and symbols using found geological illustrations as a starting point, he suggests a sense of human inefficacy against nature, creating juxtapositions that are both beautifully evocative and deeply disquieting.

The form of Arancio’s sculpture Untitled is informed by the petrified trees of the Lava Tree State Monument in Hawaii which preserves lava moulds of the tree trunks that were formed after a volcanic eruption. By using a natural material like clay to recreate the lava trees’ totemic presence and by toning the resulting shapes with iridescent, metallic glazes, Arancio creates a link to his ongoing fascination about nature as a theatre for rituals, worship and self-induced trance states. De-contextualising the forms that have inspired him, Arancio makes apparent their mystical side and emphasises the strangeness and the evocative power of these natural elements that may recall phallic symbols and esoteric signs.

The acquisition of three works by Arancio are a significant addition to The Harris’s collection and will play an important role in their contemporary art programme – Harris Inspired – which will display works in and around the building, including non-gallery spaces. Arancio’s print, collage and sculpture will be displayed alongside 18th and 19th century landscapes, sculpture, ceramics, historic books, and an important but underused collection of prints from the 16th century to the present day.

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