Planetario, 1995
GPO-0759
Planetarium
Photographic reproduction, broken glass sheet, roulette pivot, glass globe
10 x 50 x 60 cm
Collection of the artist
A photographic reproduction of the phases of Venus – with a cut-out in the area corresponding to the phase where the surface of the planet is entirely in darkness – is held down under a glass sheet that is broken at the centre. In the area corresponding to the point of impact is the pivot of a roulette wheel, topped by a small globe made of dark glass recalling a roulette ball.1
Overall, the situation "calls into play the possibility of all the parts corresponding, so that beauty – symbolically evoked through Venus – is achieved.”2
The same theme can be found in two previous works, made in 1990, the first of which also titled Planetario (GPO-0672), the other Le fasi di Venere (GPO-0673).
1 Originally, the roulette disc was in an upside down position, as if it had fallen onto the glass and caused it to break. In June 2025, the artist had second thoughts and reformulated the installation, orienting the roulette on the recto.
2 G. Paolini in conversation with M. Disch (2005), in M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 2 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 672 p. 685.
Image of the phases of Venus from David Bergamini, L’Universo (Milan: Mondadori, 1968), p. 51 (”Vedendo la Terra dallo spazio”).
| • | G. Paolini in conversation with M. Disch (2005), in M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 672 p. 685. |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 2 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 759 p. 772, col. repr. (first state). |
