LOL

On occasion of their second solo exhibition at Fabio Paris Art Gallery, and for the first time in Italy, Eva and Franco Mattes (0100101110101101.ORG) are to exhibit the project for which they have been awarded the Premio New York 2006. For over a year Eva and Franco Mattes lived in the virtual world of Second Life, exploring its terrain and interacting with its peculiar inhabitants.
The result of this videogame flanerie is a series of portraits characterized by the bright colors, artificial lighting, polygonal shapes and surreal perspectives typical of virtual worlds. Overall, the series draws on the technological developments which allow the creation of alternate identities within simulated worlds.
These portraits of avatars, which use images derived from videogames, recall a variety of cultural, psychological, political and social references concerning the relationship between high art and subculture, between contemporary art and “traditional” art genres, and between art and life itself.

LOL carries on the work that began with “13 Most Beautiful Avatars”, an exhibition project that involved the physical space of the Italian Academy in New York and the virtual space of Ars Virtua Gallery, and is set to continue in February with the MattesÌ second solo exhibition at Postmasters Gallery in New York.

LOL features five portraits and a triptych, all dedicated to female avatars. The title of the show is an expression much used by the online community to express amusement or jollity (“Laugh Out Loud” or “Lots Of Laughs”) or as a closing greeting (“Lots Of Love”). The fact that the Mattes duo refuse to explain the meaning of this ready-made of web communications leaves it open for interpretation: an artificial language for artificial life forms? A touch of sarcasm towards attempts to interpret a work that should be assessed primarily from the aesthetic point of view? Or rather the revelation that behind the display of apparent high spirits virtual worlds conceal a profound sense of anxiety, an underlying tragedy that at times emerges from these dazzlingly beautiful faces?

On occasion of the exhibition the gallery is to publish the book Portraits, which explores all the stages of this work.

EVA E FRANCO MATTES (0100101110101101.ORG) – LOL
From 20 January to 3 March 2007
Show curated and catalogue edited by Domenico Quaranta
fabioparisartgallery
via Alessandro Monti 13 – 25121 Brescia – tel. 030 3756139 – Skype: fabioparisbs
www.fabioparisartgallery.com
www.0100101110101101.org