Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 1999

November 24th, 1999

Artist's Work on Video Transforms Modest Gestures into Epic Events

Nocturnal and Melodic Romantic: Saverio Lucariello, the first American presentation of the work of the Italian-born artist, video-maker, photographer and sculptor, will be on view in the Video Gallery (179) of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from November 30, 1999, through January 30, 2000. Each of the five short (3 - 10 minutes) works features the artist performing simple, repetitive tasks using common objects. Accompanied by carefully selected, "dreamy" musical scores or his own poetic recitations, the commonplace gestures of Lucariello's engaging pantomime are transformed into epic, operatic events.

Lucariello's clown-like persona and enigmatic actions recall performance-based videotapes of the 1970s in addition to more recent manifestations of this genre. His poignant vignettes employ simple means and technology to explore the conventions and effects of theatrical melodrama, producing modest but humorous entertainment of their own.

A resident of Paris, Lucariello has exhibited his work in France and Italy, and most recently was featured in the Venice Biennale.

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