The architect Pietro Paolo Speziale brings his “Reflections on Cement” to Valencia in an exhibition that can be seen at ‘Las Cervezas del Mercado de Colón’.

Pietro Paolo Speziale has just moved to Valencia with his studio Cosmos Architecture and has already made an exhibition “Reflections on Cement” at Las Cervezas del Mercado de Colón. The exhibition is based on his intense research into the study of materials applied to art. For a quarter of a year we will be able to delve into this research and get to know first-hand his works, with suggestive titles such as ‘Nubes Blancas’, ‘Cuevas’,’ Infinito’ and ‘Piel’.

With a Master’s degree in Architecture, Construction and Planning from the Polytechnic University of Milan and a second Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the Tongji University in Shanghai, Speziale furthered his training in Graphic Design and Visual Communication at the Peter the Great Polytechnic University in Saint Petersburg and at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

“My love for raw materials and the dynamics of life led me to create,” explains the author, who adds: “Those who love architecture praise it with nostalgic tones, while for others it is the quintessence of coldness and anonymity. The truth is that concrete is omnipresent in our lives: at home, in the street, at work; it defines our spaces and we are trapped in it, living it”. And he concludes: “The discovery in this process is that concrete also has its life, because the living is always in movement; the questions that run through it are plural and spring from unexpected encounters. This is how the result of my works wants to live: multiple, at the crossroads of discoveries and desires, over time, indifferent to whatever happens”.

All the works are made on a wooden frame and the materials used are white cement powder, grey cement glue powder, concentrated water-based dye and matt acrylic paint.

Each of the works responds to a concern. Thus, for the author, ‘Nubes Blancas’ is a mystery that lets itself be carried away by the wind, does not resist, does not fight and floats above everything. All dimensions and all directions belong to it. White clouds have no precise origin and no goal; their mere being at this moment is perfection.

With Piel, the author remembers curious hands, smells, surfaces and lips. He remembers moments and allows himself to be marked by them. “Every sign, every stain, every scar is an autograph of God,” he recounts.

‘Cuevas’ means running away to feel good because, as this architect explains, “Without taking refuge anywhere, you will create a cave in your heart and start living in it. Instead of trying to escape, I try to become more conscious to find my point of escape in each new cave”.

And finally, we will discover his thoughts and feelings about ‘Infinito’: The line is seen as the most concise form of infinity, in which “the leap from the static to the dynamic” takes place. In particular, the horizontal line corresponds to cold, the vertical line corresponds to warm infinite mobility. The viewer can thus identify with the work by giving it his or her own meaning, since infinity is in the eye of the beholder.

The inauguration was attended by instagramers such as Nuel Puig and Paula Velasco, the nutritionist Eli Escorihuela, the lawyers José Pérez Manglano and Paz Sansaloni, the businesswoman Carmen Romero, the cousins Maca Alegre, Cristina Aguirre and Marta Manglano as well as Mar Alvarez, Cristina Salazar and Leonardo Pugliese.

Report by ’24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’

“Reflections on Cement”

Pietro Paolo Speziale

Until Autumn 2022

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