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"Fashion-fiction" finds. Ladies'
armor created to protect women from the dangers of everyday living. An artistic
tease inviting viewers to an ironic and provoking dialogue which takes aim
at hypocrisy and commonplaces. This is the intent of Antonio Riello's latest
project. Using real weapons of war, the artist transforms these indisputable
objects of male power into exaggeratedly affected female ones. The real
revolution is in the gesture: he embellishes, covers and decorates the objects
with intentionally glamorous fabrics and materials. He turns them into simple
trans-objects that are not meant to be handled but instead exhibited as
works of art. Firmly opposed to the use of weapons, Riello makes use of
his Ladies' weapons as an artistic pretext to highlight as well as ridicule
the aggressive alibis of armed defense - and thereby suggests other types
of emancipation. Made as a warning for those who violate domestic thresholds,
the objects are for a virtual army of your everyday girl-next-door heroines
who leave their homes to go shopping wearing war accessories to defend themselves
- obviously ironically - from quotidian ambushes.
Hand grenades, rocket guns, rifles and pistols - one of a kinds - that are
named after imaginary heroines from around the world (and whose country
of origin corresponds to where the weapon was manufactured) are transformed
by the artist and presented with pearls and diamonds, covered in precious
fabrics, adorned and polished.
The volume includes critical essays by Jonathan turner and Luca Beatrice.
Antonio Riello, born in Rio de Janeiro, lives and works in Milan and Amsterdam.
His work has been exhibited in the most important cities in the world.
In 2001 he participated in an exhibition in Paris and had solo exhibitions
in New York, Geneva, Duesseldorf, Amsterdam and Berlin.
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Title:
Antonio Riello
Ladies Weapons
Texts:
Jonathan Turner, Luca Beatrice, Anne Erdmann
Pages:
64
Format:
24x27 cm
Illustration:
49 col.
Published:
2001
Price:
€ 23,24
ISBN
88-8273-027-1
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