Etherea, Indio, USA, 2018

Etherea is the site-specific installation conceived for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the world’s most anticipated and important music events.

The artwork consists of three transparent sculptures inspired by Neoclassical and Baroque architecture, all with identical shapes but different sizes, positioned on an axis and measuring 36, 54 and 72 feet in height, respectively. Etherea follows a growing experiential path where architecture becomes a tool and place for contemplation, a dedicated space where the sky and clouds are narrated through the language of classical architecture. Thanks to the transparent wire mesh, an optical effect made of perspectives and dimensional relationships is generated by the passage through the three sculptures and measuring scales, which either amplifies or reduces the distance between man and sky.

If, quoting Christian Norberg-Schulz, “the sky is as large as the space from which it is seen”, then, when architecture expands itself, that same sky will appear ever more distant and the observer will feel like they are shrinking, liberating more space to contemplate the clouds.