SAVING VENICE I, II, III
SAVING VENICE
Cast Bronze, Rope, Glass beads
with reclaimed sea floats, 2023 – 2024
H x W x Depth
I: 36 x 12 x 6 inches
II: 36 x 14 x 9 inches
III: 26 x 10 x 9 inches
One Edition Only
Laura Teste
SAVING VENICE I, II, and III, a wall mounted triptych, shows three different reactions to what is lurking below, be it rising waters or rising tensions. The three diminutive figures perch or cling to a drape of bronze that is entwined around a thick rope with glass ring accents. The rings were formed from crushed pieces of glass fishing floats. Laura Testé opened a new door with SAVING VENICE by adding novel materials to her traditionally cast bronzes. The rich contrast in media produces a strongly harmonized composition consistent with her artistic trajectory.
Testé noted that SAVING VENICE was the outcome of two inspirations. “One, my brother sent me reclaimed fragments of glass fish floats from the floor of the Pacific. [This was] A big nudge to reflect on oceanic changes. The second influence came from the group dynamics found in the expressive figures of Guatemalan sculptor Max Leiva.”
SAVING VENICE
Ice shelves cracking one hears the bell,
But only the ring and not the knell.
One more Willy Loman for this smart age,
Slowed by worn lies and fooled by stale rage.
Not dull, Not bright.
One hears the pious, gleeful and drastic,
Their fury stoked by a straw of plastic.
And if Venice joins Atlantis below,
They’ll barely conceal their told-you-so glow.
Not wrong, Not right.
One hears the bitter, who grow hard and shrill,
At worlds once promised for them to fill.
Limp flags of hubris they drag through the air,
Claiming a common man’s right to fanfare.
Not black, Not white.
One hears the bold, who confront despair,
And take on the mess of this massive repair.
Unhear surrender, sidestep the brink,
Face the future and do not blink.
Not lost, Not quite.
