ETHEREAL: A DIGITAL EXPLORATION OF INTANGIBLE BEAUTY, 2024

“Ethereal: A Digital Exploration of Intangible Beauty,” conceived by digital artist Andrea Crespi, invites the viewer on a timeless journey through the fusion of art and technology. The installation features an innovative mix of LED screens and a holographic pyramid using Tria technology. This allows the artist to convert the digital artwork into a hologram, integrating video data such as texture, color, and movement within the three-dimensional space, alongside audio data. It is the first dynamic artwork, the result of three years of artistic research and technological development, offering spectators an immersive experience that transforms the space into a digital environment where reflection and interaction blend in a vibrant atmosphere.

In the embrace between matter and nature, the artist sees the delicate figure of the butterfly as the perfect subject, conveying deep meanings and intrinsic symbolism: from ephemeral beauty to the connection with the essence of nature, from the relentless flow of time to its precariousness. Thus, the butterfly hologram, a subtle interaction between technology and humanity, born from the intertwining of artificial intelligence and digital magic, stands as a symbol of the dematerialization of life, a witness to the imperceptible transition from matter to ether.

Freezing a moment in the eternal flow of time, the hologram challenges the obsolescence feared by every artist in the face of changing technologies. Paradoxically, it is the hologram itself that crystallizes time, elevating it to a precious guardian of our destinies and the ever-changing seasons of human existence. In this dance between space and time, the ephemeral becomes ethereal, and the butterfly embodies the very evolution of technology.

The thread that runs through the work spans the bridge the artist builds between the past and the future, reinventing the image of a classic feminine icon, a symbol of beauty, in a contemporary version depicted on the butterfly’s wings with the artist’s signature patterns, weaving a tangible connection between the ages. Sound accompanies the visual experience, enveloping the viewer in the delicate flutter of wings and the flow of code that generates it, transporting us on a hypnotic journey where time seems suspended in an eternal wingbeat.

For the first time, the hologram becomes a tool of artistic expression, and thus art itself, revolutionizing the contemporary digital art landscape. The artist creates an experiential path that propels the viewer into an alchemical dimension where the digital merges with the ethereal, and the flow of time halts in a sublime moment of contemplation.

Curatorial Text by Clelia Patella