Emanuele Giannelli is back in Florence with sculptures that grab our attention and provoke a reaction.
Following the success of Mr. Arbitrium in 2022, the Rome-born and Pietrasanta-based artist returns to the city centre with the dual-site exhibition Il Cielo Sopra Firenze (The Sky Above Florence): The Watcher beside Basilica of San Lorenzo and two Korf17 sculptures framing the entrance of Palazzo Strozzi Sacrati, the headquarters of the Tuscany regional government.
Korf17 in piazza del Duomo
The Korf17 duo to the rear of the cathedral gaze in search of something we do not yet know, their virtual reality headsets questioning the relationship between technology and humanity. It’s a disconcerting sight in a piazza defined by religion and government, although the artist’s aim is to invite us to overcome ephemerality in favour of a wider perspective.
The Watcher in piazza San Lorenzo
In San Lorenzo, the four-metre-high resin sculpture The Watcher bears a passing resemblance to Mr. Arbitrium with none of the previous leaning on the medieval church walls. Looking up to the sky, a signature trait of the sculptor’s work, The Watcher turns his muscular heft and accentuated binocular eyes to the heavens, in search of strength or spiritual guidance, or perhaps just surveying the skies watchful of an attack.
Local residents have replicated their previous affectionate yet iconic reaction to the 2022 installation with a handwritten note affixed to the plinth, which reads: “Oh Giannelli, this morning Bruna opened the shutters and said, ‘If only my husband had it…’ Welcome back to San Lorenzo, giant… your name spreads around the world… but they could have given it some underwear!”
“Emanuele Giannelli returns to Florence with significant works capable of speaking to humans, leaving us in awe,” remarks President of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani. “Anyone who passes by Korf17, which frames the entrance to the regional government building, or The Watcher on the steps of San Lorenzo, is obliged to look up at the sculptures, raising their gaze above the weight of our bodies and those of these giants, rediscovering the sky as a bridge between the human and eternity.”
