Room 6
This room was the Palazzo’s old boiler room. Removing its floor, the builders discovered an underground rainwater drain built in the 20th century and lined with 18th and 19th century majolica tiles. As they continued with the excavation, they realized that the drain had an inhabitant. In search of water, the Jacaranda tree in the courtyard had sent a root off into the drain, finding easy passage and a source of water. The root explores all the limits of the drain, and the combination creates a thing of beauty.
A constant throughout the Poirier’s oeuvre are the Greek Myths. The work visible in this room belongs to the series of Theogonies (1988) and it depicts the head of Medusa.
Alongside two works by Claudio Costa which demonstrate how the scientific aspect can be translated into artefacts with a strong visual impact: an Acidic Canvas and a Study on Craneologies, both from 1970.
In the rest of the room there are works by Eugenio Ferretti, the Portrait of Artists as Old Men (1979), in witch Claudio Costa assembles a collection of photographs behind stained glass. Geniuses such as Einstein are juxtaposed with simple farmers from different parts of the world, alongside quotes from the Ancient Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’; and then a drawing by Elisabeth Scherffig (Steinmetzarbeiten, 1985).
In a small space under an old staircase are another two works by the Poiriers.