Urs Fischer in piazza della Signoria

The recent string of contemporary works in piazza della Signoria continues this year with the Swiss Urs Fischer, who unveiled Big Clay #4 and Two Tuscan Men (until January 21, 2018) for In Florence, the art event devised by Fabrizio Moretti and Sergio Risaliti as a tie-in to the 30th edition of the International Biennial Antiques Fair.

Standing alongside the stars of Renaissance art, Fischer’s evocative works of metal and clay are sure to incite a fair amount of noise. Big Clay #4, on loan from the V.A.C. Foundation Collection, stands imposingly tall in the piazza, while Two Tuscan Men, wax sculptures depicting Moretti and Risaliti, stand among the reproductions of Michelangelo’s David and Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes, similar to the previous exhibition by Jeff Koons (2015). The wax men were set alight on September 22 and will burn slowly throughout the duration of the show, “symbolizing human transience and the lasting quality of art.”

In recent years,” says Mayor Dario Nardella, “we have been accepting the challenge of international exhibitions specifically devised for our city by the world’s great artists, creating experimental dialogues between the classic and the contemporary, between different languages and styles or techniques and materials […] We are ready to welcome this extraordinary artist’s poetic energy, along with whatever emotions and discussions his works may spark. Florence at this juncture has opened up to contemporary art; now a vibrant workshop, it refuses simply to be a fine showcase, an urban museum. We want to be leading players in today’s life so as to avoid downgrading the golden Renaissance to the status of a mere fossil from the past.