Roberto Visani: Form/Reform
On view through June 12, 2022
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Brattleboro, Vermont
www.Brattleboromuseum.org
Curated by David Rios Ferreira, “Form/Reform” features Robert Visani’s do-it-yourself, cardboard-kit recreations of well-known art historical objects that reference the trans-Atlantic slave trade, including sculptures by Hiram Powers, Jean Baptiste Carpeaux, and others.
“Visani forms and reforms art historical depictions of enslaved people through research, digital modeling, and laser-cut cardboard segments,” said Rios Ferreira. “Like much of Visani’s practice, these works examine the Black body through a reinterpretation of historical artworks and artifacts.”
“Seeing these iconic sculptures recreated in such a wildly different, non-traditional, and ‘disposable’ medium asks the viewer to consider the works’ history, context, and role in the American imagination as objects and as symbols,” said Freeman.
[Image: Roberto Visani, “cardboard slave kit, freedman blend” (2021), cardboard, hot glue, 53 x 69 x 30 inches, from “Form/Reform”]
