What Remains…
Site-specific installation created for Polytropon Arts Center
Date March 1 – June 21, 2026
Quello che avanza is an environmental installation that takes shape as an active residue, as what remains after a process but which, precisely for this reason, continues to generate meaning.
A series of 144 cyanotypes created between 2014 and 2017 transform the real space into a perceptual field within which the passage of time leaves its traces, just as the river glides steadily past the windows of Polytropon Arts Center. In dialogue with the cyanotypes, the works in the ARIE series introduce an additional dimension: that of unstable matter, suspended between weight and lightness. Made with feathers, pigments, plexiglass and crystal, the works offer themselves as still frames of an invisible movement, surfaces crossed by colour and light that change with space and with the gaze.
A series of 144 cyanotypes created between 2014 and 2017 transform the real space into a perceptual field within which the passage of time leaves its traces, just as the river glides steadily past the windows of Polytropon Arts Center. In dialogue with the cyanotypes, the works in the ARIE series introduce an additional dimension: that of unstable matter, suspended between weight and lightness. Made with feathers, pigments, plexiglass and crystal, the works offer themselves as still frames of an invisible movement, surfaces crossed by colour and light that change with space and with the gaze.
The title of the installation alludes to a dual direction: what remains from the manufacturing processes but also what comes forward thanks to them. Alfredo Pirri's artistic intervention as a whole turns its gaze to process and memory – but it does so without nostalgia, as if each residue contained within itself a trace of a possible future.
Alfredo Pirri
Alfredo Pirri (Cosenza, 1957) is one of the most important Italian artists on the contemporary scene, known for his practice that spans painting, installation, architecture and intervention in public space. His work explores the relationship between perception, memory and space, transforming exhibition and urban spaces into experiential environments that question the balance between vision and physical presence. Pirri has created numerous site-specific projects in international museums and institutions and represented Italy at the 2024 Venice Biennale. His works, often characterised by the use of reflective materials, unstable surfaces and temporary architectures, invite the public to an immersive experience and a reflection on the status of the image and shared space.