Permanence and transience
Anello by Umberto Cavenago stands out as a challenge to the traditional static nature of art, transforming the gesture of drawing into a bodily and dynamic experience. Situated on a lawn along the shore of Lake Maggiore, this work finds its strength in its symbiosis with its natural surroundings.
The device, apparently simple, reveals a sophisticated functioning: a 2.5 metre long steel rod connects a fixed point to a wheel with a diameter of 80 cm. The fixed point but rotating 360° is articulated by means of horizontal and vertical bearings, allowing the rod to move in a circular manner, like a large compass. By pushing the device, the wheel traces a pattern on the grass, an ephemeral ring that interacts with the morphology of the ground.
This movement generates an aesthetic tension between the eternal and the ephemeral: the view of the still water of the lake, with its natural horizontality, contrasts with the meadow, which has slight variations in elevation. The interaction of the wheel with the unlevelled ground creates a temporary pattern, a ring that stands out like a fleeting imprint of human presence.
Cavenago's work not only invites the viewer to reflect on the nature of drawing and representation, but also on the incessant dialogue between permanence and transience. The eternal stability of the lake contrasts with the mutability of the ring, emphasising the complex relationship between man and nature, between the human sign and the unchanging natural landscape. Anello thus becomes a powerful metaphor for our existence: a precarious balance between what is still and what is constantly becoming.
L.B., 2011
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