Twelve Disks Over Sixteen Hollowed Halves and Four

Quarters

2013

mixed media

dimensions variable

Felice Varini is a Swiss artist currently based in Paris, France. Over his

career, he created many artworks that placed anamorphic images on top of

pre-existing architecture. Over time, both his designs and substrates have

become more complex. Progressive’s collection includes his 2012 piece,

Twelve disks over sixteen hallowed halves and four quarters, of which I was

initially intrigued by the technical feat of seeing the image align from a single

vantage point. As a viewer, I had to search for the moment where this image

was visible by walking around the dining area, crouching down to reach the

correct eye level. However, what I came to love about the piece was seeing

how the image became small fragments of shape and color as I walked

through it.

In walking through his piece at Campus One, a viewer can see multiple

abstract shapes throughout a communal space. While the design’s single

vantage point is accessible by the corner of the wall, to the right of the

piece’s label, the piece is so much more than that. The complexities of the

building structure and overlapping beams disrupts the design, leaving frag-

ments of it within the space. There is no truly single ‘correct view’ of the

piece. The piece exists to be walked through and seen from many angles.

-Jamie Brinker