The restored sculpture ‘Sphere Within Sphere’, a symbol of the Earth, by the renowned Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro was unveiled at Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Monday (Jan 19).
Head of visual arts department at the ministry of culture Majid Molla-Norouzi, Italian Ambassador to Iran Mauro Conciatori, Pomodoro Foundation representative Marco Meneguzzo, together with a number of art fans attended the event, ISNA reported.
Before unveiling the sculpture, Molla-Norouzi pointed out that “cleaning and restoring this sculpture symbolizes cleaning the Earth and paying attention to the environment.”
He also stressed that Iran’s presence at next year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s best showcase for art, “will be more outstanding as the space dedicated to Iran is 10 times that of the previous editions.” This provides Iran with greater opportunity to present its rich art to the world.
Historical Ties
The Italian ambassador talked about the historical ties between Iran and Italy as two ancient cradles of art and said: “Restoring the old Italian sculpture by Iranians suggests the fine relationship between the two great civilizations.”
Placed among the exquisite collection of the museum works since 1977, ‘Sphere Within Sphere’ was exposed to dust and pollution over the years; thus the need for its restoration was felt and led to its cleaning up process.
Explaining the absence of the sculptor on the occasion, Marco Meneguzzo said, “Pomodoro has turned 89 this year, so he could not come to see his sculpture being restored.” He also noted that restoring ‘Sphere’, which is like a son to the father, “has been the best present received by Pomodoro.”
Many Sculptures
Born in 1926, Arnaldo Pomodoro is a well-known Italian sculptor. He has created a number of sculptures which have been set and displayed in various parts of the world. He has created more than one ‘Sphere Within Sphere’, which can be seen in different places across the globe including the Vatican Museums, Trinity College, Dublin, the United Nations Headquarters and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa, the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio, and the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1999 he founded Pomodoro Foundation (Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro) in Milan. Originally conceived as a center to document and archive the work of the artist, it opened an exhibition space in 2005, hosting works of prominent artists.
