Simona Pavoni

Lives and works in Milan, MI

Artist statement

My practice begins with an ontological curiosity and a mystery: that of corporeality. A body needs a boundary in order to exist, but it must also be permeable in order to be alive. This tension between containment and permeability is at the core of my research. My interests move between architecture, philosophy and biology— the first to observe how spaces are constructed and organised to accommodate life; biology to understand how an organism is composed and how its parts interact; philosophy to question existence, relationships and meaning. Observing similar principles at different scales gives my work an aura of magic and sacredness. My works can be small or environmental. The properties of matter lead me to form through minimal gestures: I fold and perforate paper, comb fur, draw following a crack in glass, use colour as a permeable liquid. Through different media — text, painting, sculpture, light design and performance — I construct sensory spaces. The place where I work becomes a laboratory activated by fundamental questions: How can a place welcome life? How can a boundary attract and repel at the same time? How can things be held together, and according to what kind of order? I am interested in giving the impression that everything has always been this way. Within a space, my works can be difficult to distinguish: a tension emerges between what is kept secret and what is revealed to the gaze, inviting the visitor into a meditative state shaped by physical, visual...

Artwork