2015 0022 carla guagliardi: opera II
(or Where is the time I have left in this space?)

february 8 — molten, 2015
viewable 24 hours

The materials listed for Carla Guagliardi' s Opera II (or Where is the time I have left in this space?) are: elastic cord, wood, ice — and time. Her piece for die raum is a continuation of a series of works dealing with the impact of time on organic materials and our perception of space.
 Opera II is a sculptural thermodynamic operation — hence the title referring to the latin origins of the word “opera” as “work” or “labour”. The installation consists of a monolithic human-scale ice block placed on a wooden structure, suspended by elastic cords which are attached to the four corners of the ceiling. As a balanced system submitted to the inexorable forces of gravity and thermodynamism the installation will commence “operation” as the ice begins to slowly melt.
 Guagliardi's installations are carefully composed, highly aesthetic, dynamic systems governed by visible as well as invisible processes performing a poetic measure of time. She often works with simple but precise gestures. Opera II (or Where is the time I have left in this space?) turns die raum into a lyrical “Gesamtkunstwerk” of gravitational and thermodynamic forces striving to reach at state of equilibrium, and as such reflecting the constant flow of life and perceptual flux.