In the world of art, there are no rules, only opinions and preferences, giving reason to why an Italian artist, Salvatore Garau recently sold an invisible sculpture for 15,000 euros ($18,300/N7,389,000).
According to as.com, the sculpture’s initial price was set between 6,000 and 9,000 euros; however, the price was raised after several bids were placed.
The sculpture, which is titled “Io Sono” (Italian for “I am”), is “immaterial” according to the 67-year-old artist, meaning the sculpture does not actually exist.
Though he’s received much critique for the sale, Garau argues that his work of art isn’t “nothing,” but is instead a “vacuum.”
Speaking about the statue, he expressed;
The vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that ‘nothing’ has a weight. Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us.
According to Italy 24 News, Garau instructed that the sculpture must be displayed in a private home free from any obstruction, in an area that is about 5 ft. long by 5 ft. wide, because the piece does not exist, there are no special lighting or climate requirements.
Multiple outlets report that the only tangible item the buyer will receive is a certificate of authentication that is both signed and stamped by Garau.
This is not the first immaterial sculpture Garau has “created”, however, this is the first he has sold.
Last month, Garau displayed another immaterial sculpture titled, “Buddha in Contemplation,” in Piazza della Scala in Milan, near the entrance to Gallerie d’Italia.
Garau posted a video of the “statue” on his Instagram page.
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The video shows the taped-off area where the work is located.
“Now it exists and will remain in this space forever,” says the video. “You do not see it but it exists. It is made of air and spirit.”
The sculpture is meant to “activate” the viewer’s imagination, a power that, the artist says in the video, exists within everyone.
Garau speaking of his sculptures, according to as.com said;
When I decide to ‘exhibit’ an immaterial sculpture in a given space, that space will concentrate a certain amount and density of thoughts at a precise point, creating a sculpture that, from my title, will only take the most varied forms. After all, don’t we shape a God we’ve never seen?
As stated earlier, there are truly no rules in art. All art is subjective because it relies upon the opinions of its viewers.
In 2019, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan set the internet on fire with his banana artwork titled “Comedian”.
The artwork, created in an edition of three, consists of a fresh banana affixed to a wall with duct tape. Two editions of the widely critiqued piece sold for $120,000 USD at Art Basel Miami Beach.
