Maria Cristina Carlini. Colloquio tra giganti

Maria Cristina Carlini is the first contemporary sculptress to exhibit in the huge complex of the Forbidden City in Beijing. From March 17th to April 10th, the imperial city opens up its doors to host four monumental sculptures of the artist, amongst the most representative of her work.
These majestic works fit harmoniously within the Palace walls and perfectly reflect the solemnity and magnificence that these spaces have inspired for millennia. In this sense, stands out the sculpture Ties (Legami), made of corten steel and lead, with its big size of 470x280x270 cm.
In homage to the history of the Forbidden City, which in former times also functioned as a stronghold to protect the emperor, who resided there, we can admire the steel work Fortress (Fortezza) (440 h - Ø 500 cm).
The dominant colour in the imperial residence is yellow, the symbol of the royal family. The only exception is the black-roofed library: black, which symbolized water, was believed to be able to protect the books it contained from fire danger. The work Literature (Letteratura), corten steel (250x500x250 cm) is therefore in deep harmony with a place which used to be also the precious centre of transmission of knowledge.
For centuries reserved to the members of the imperial house, the Forbidden City is today accessible to the entire Chinese people and to the whole world: in honour of this real and symbolic opening, Maria Cristina Carlini exhibits Out & In, an iron sculpture (200x185x400 cm) which already in its name lets us guess the desire to establish an interaction with the public through a work you can “go into and come out of”. A “welcoming” sculpture, for an artist who turns the opening into a basic aspect of her poetics.