Piazza d’Italia (III), 2002

A primed canvas is laid down on the ground in a tilted position between two upside-down Thonet chairs, one of which is positioned to the left of the canvas, while the other is half-hidden under the opposite end. The visible chair holds down three paper elements: a blank sheet and the image of the face of a clock, inserted in one of the chair’s legs, and the reproduction of a dome viewed from below, lying on the canvas. The title is a tribute to a well-known series of works from the Metaphysical period of Giorgio de Chirico.
The elements at play allude to a painting, which instead of being composed in the eyes of the author-viewer – alluded to by the chair – are announced in a metonymic key via the two iconographic details. The drawing in trompe l’œil recalls, in a characteristic motif, the Italian cultural tradition as a context of belonging, as well as the very artifices of the representation. For its part, the clock does not solely constitute a typical image from the Metaphysical paintings of de Chirico – evoked by the series of works alluded to in the title – but also represents an absolute dimension, time, which escapes every attempt at stopping its passing.
The work is part of a group of three variants made between 2001 and 2002 (GPO-0865, GPO-0866, GPO-0872), distinguished by the different configuration of the three main elements: the chair, the sheets or the photographic reproductions, the canvas or the stretcher.