“Moonlight Garden” by Yuri Catania takes the view on a walk through a secret garden in a solo exhibition at Erarta Museum in St. Petersburg from January 26 to May 28, 2023. An intimate photography project capturing the aesthetic perfection of hundreds of colourful flowers lovingly cultivated by the artist’s wife. A metaphysical garden, remote from reality and particularly enchanting by night.
What makes the night so attractive? Why are there so many poems celebrating it?
The night offers a short respite, a chance to call it a day, to zero out, to remind oneself that tomorrow is another day when all dreams will finally come true. The night softly erases everything that was before, allowing one to forget today’s failures and unfulfilled promises. Oh magic night!
The night is a tiny death for today’s imperfection, a short break before its victorious rebirth on the next day. Tomorrow I will be a different person, tomorrow I will accomplish what is long overdue. The night obscures obstacles and renews our faith in ourselves. Oh blessed night!
The night makes us more daring by placing out of sight all those who, willingly or not, constantly witness our everyday life; nightfall eliminates the need for self-control, and the newly mustered strength that we used to waste on suppressing our own desires can be invested in restoring the balance that had been upset during the day. By morning we will once again be one with the world’s harmony. Oh healing night!
The night is like a fairy tale, and sweet are the dreams under its veil! Like an empty canvas in the hands of an artist, it will embrace any visions that we dare to draw in our mind. Oh profound night!
Make a wish and take a walk through the night garden created by the Italian-born artist Yuri Catania. His garden is far from being realistic: the flowers are fresh and colourful, whereas in real life most of them would close up at nightfall to protect themselves from the cold and humidity and preserve their aroma until the next morning when the insects return to pollinate them. Of course there are some real flowers that bloom by night, but those are few and far between and, unlike Yuri Catania’s flowers, rather discreet, and so one can be sure that, rather than picturing flower still lifes, the artist is imaging a metaphysical garden wherein the backdrop of night is no less important than the blossoms.
The photographer dedicated this series to his wife Silvia. The tradition of presenting women with bunches of fresh flowers is a relatively recent one. In the ancient times, flowers were offered to gods only, although a legend maintains that the first bouquet was given by Adam to Eve when, following the Expulsion, they roamed the dismal earth and Eve yearned for the Garden of Paradise.
At night, bunches of flowers not only look romantic: they symbolise rebirth and promise, they represent hopes and dreams. This brings to mind the well-known verses by Rabindranath Tagore:
Night, I come here again
To stare into your eyes
Longing to be silent for you
And to rhapsodise you.
As the dew slowly falls
With the flowers’ measured breath
I will raise my eyes
And in silence you will appear . . .
About Erarta Museum:
Erarta is Russia's largest private museum of contemporary art, a must-see place for gaining insight into modern Russia.
Its permanent collection featuring over 2,800 works by Russian artists, along with more than 40 exciting temporary exhibitions staged by the museum every year, have firmly established it on the list of things to do in St. Petersburg. Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art was repeatedly mentioned as a top choice tourist attraction by Lonely Planet guidebooks; ranks among the top 10 museums in Russia on TripAdvisor; was spotlighted as one of the ‘5 Cultural Gems’ among places to visit in St. Petersburg by National Geographic, and became the country’s first contemporary art museum to be featured on Google Arts and Culture Project
Updated: Aug 25, 2023
Black Flower Secret Garden „Haben Sie schon einmal Blumen in der Dunkelheit beobachtet? Sie sind wunderschön und ganz an- ders, als wir sie im Sonnenlicht zu sehen gewohnt sind.“ Black Flower Secret Garden ist das künstlerische Projekt von Yuri Catania, das eine Hommage an seine Frau ist, die sich geduldig um ihren Privatgarten im Süden der Schweiz kümmert. Der Künstler Yuri hat nachts fotogra- fiert, während die Blumen und alle anderen in der Stille der Umgebung schliefen – ganz ohne Vorbereitung und nur mit der Taschenlampe. Die Farben sind leuchtend und tief, sie schweben in einer traumhaften und intimen Dimension. Die nächt- liche Atmosphäre ist samtig, was die Komposition elegant macht und ein Gefühl des Friedens vermittelt. Jede Blume hat eine Geschichte, die Tage und Monate zuvor geboren wur- de, Zeit braucht und zu einer wun- derbaren kleinen und einzigartigen Welt wird. Die Fotografie ist der letzte Akt eines langen Weges und nicht der Hauptzweck: Juri Catania fertigte die gerahmten Kunstwerke vollständig von Hand an, beginnend mit der Entwicklung des Films in der Dunkelkammer. Anschliessend druckte er auf exklusivstem Baum- wollpapier, das dem abgebildeten Motiv einen dreidimensionalen As- pekt verleiht. Jedes Kunstwerk ist ohne Glas, um jegliche Barriere oder Reflexion zu vermeiden.
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more on Modulor Magazine architectural magazine based in Zuerich
Yuri Catania signed the cover of Excellence Magazine with the creation of a physical artwork "Rainbow Grass." For the luxury magazine, he specifically customized it by adding augmented reality content, transitioning the piece from physical to digital and creating an NFT of the cover in a collection of 30 editions available on the blockchain.
The magazine was unveiled at the Armani Café in Milan during an Excellence VIP Lounge evening, where art and technology were at the heart of an event dedicated to luxury and lifestyle. Guests could use their cell phones to scan the magazine cover and experience the multimedia creation by Yuri Catania.
Inside the magazine, an eight-page article is devoted to the artist and his project "Black Flowers Secret Garden," which has been showcased in public and private exhibitions around the world – from St. Petersburg to Zurich, New York, Milan, Cologne, and Lugano.
Leggi l'articolo "From Luminous Darknes to Traces of Dust" :
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