Ecological footprint reduction with Giuseppe - moments from Kisvárda exhibition 2021

Written by: Zsuzsa Scelsa

Scelsa Giuseppe's 2021 solo exhibiton was held in Kisvárda, Hungary in October, curated by the Planetrise Association for the second time in a row.

The venue was newly renovated and simply wonderful: (in Hungarian) Bagolyvár - the 'Owl's Castle/Nest'.

Every generation and gender had the chance to get inspired by a total of 125 items exhibited in 5 rooms of the v:

- 41 paintings mainly on leftover wooden panels, packaging materials or furniture parts

- 76 up-cycled statues of metal, wood and stone

- 8 up-cycled lamps made of materials ranging from motorcycle headlights to old radio boxes.

The opening ceremony was attended by numerous local guests and some of Pino's close friends arriving from some 2-300 km-s of distance. Speaches were held by Péter Juhász, Director of Planetrise stressing the importance of our consciousness about the environment and its expression through Art, followed by András Kádár representing the Jane Goodall Institute and bringing the message of the founder about "how one person can do a lot to save the World".

The town's major, Tibor Leleszi expressed his surprise in the beauty in the artistic pieces made out of scrap materials and welcomed the Arte di Pino collection in Kisvárda, and finally Dr. Miklós Seszták, Minister of National Development, appreciated the exhibition by titleing it:

"Ecological Footprint Reduction with Giuseppe".

The first room started with darker feelings, where creatures from "Quasimodo" and "My monsters", "Family tree" brought us to the world of imagination through "Balloons" and the playful creature of the "Ugly Duckling".

Next room to follow was in contrast about flowers and feminine energies. Bouquets made of iron - so no need to water :) - and paintings with vivid and bright colours of female faces and a series floral designs painted on old chair seat parts.

A semi-oval sitting area furnished with arm-chairs was next, with a more elegant style and Pino's biggest painting on the wall "Attention". "Iron Irene", "Adriatic Flower" and the "Wise Owl" gave a subtle touch to the interior, such as "Don Quixote" Lamp and "Dalí" in front of the semi-circle windows.

The biggest room was home to colourfulness, playfulness, fun and surprises. Some of the paintings on the wall were a combination of wood and metal parts, such as "The Flipper" and "The Spider" and two lamps were positioned in two corners "Frequency" the radio box in the company of some small stone statues like the "Sicilian" and "Dagi" the dog; and "Amelia", a lamp made of 3 legs used in socks shops. In the middle a myriad of different topics from a Dinosaur to Sailing boats.

The main entry hosted the plain and more elegant style and most iconic of the statues, such as the "Stuck man" and the "Tribal Mask". Naturally, one of the most important lamps: "The Girl With Bag" was the one to salute each guest that entered the room from the stairs; along the window sat some smaller statues like the "Game of Life" and the "Rooster".

Pino's biggest statue so far, "The butterfly" made of old iron fences was placed up the stairs in front of the widows in company of the "Sad Sun", one of Pino's own favorites.

Through the 3 following weeks, local schools and inhabitants had the chance to visit the collection and get inspiration on how materials and objects can be transformed through creativity and continue to serve our environment instead of being thrown away.

A huge Thank You from Arte di Pino to the organisers, and for the opportunity, warm welcome and beautiful messages from the town of Kisvárda!