Lora Schlesinger’s East Gallery presents Staples, a new body of work by Carlo Marcucci. Staples is a series of wall-mounted sculptures assembled with staples, rope, paper clips, erasers and a variety of commonplace materials. This body of work presents a minimalist aesthetic and formal design elements that reevaluate our relationship to industry and culture, in the vein of Arte Povera and the Assemblage Art movement. The two movements saw a return to simple objects and messages, appropriating conventional materials to create meaningful works of art. Invested in materiality and physicality, these man-made products were used in reaction to the modernist abstract painting that dominated the art world in that period.

Marcucci’s choice of materials are not found objects, they are man-made items purchased at office supply and hardware stores. He combines these elements harmoniously, producing elegant works of art greater than the simple summation of the individual components. For all intended purposes, the items chosen lose their recognizable original identity and are transformed into graceful geometric compositions reminiscent of office buildings, cubicles, architectural details and of industry. The sensual aspects of the materials are accentuated and allowed to be discovered anew.