For Mariana Sammartino, the work she created for INFINITO Into Space represents a dynamic new proposal, one that combines art, design and craftsmanship in a unique way. “The creative process for this project may not be so different from the one I have always undertaken, but the outcome represents a departure of sorts. By design, the work’s interactive nature offers an open-ended creative cycle that does not end with the artist. INFINITO  is what I like to call ‘contextual art.’ The work is defined in relationship to its context. INFINITO invites the viewer to engage in a process of creation and re-creation. The work itself is transformed through interaction.” 

The INFINITO Into Space exhibit at Serrano Gallery features an art installation comprised of multiple modules or units made from stainless steel woven wire mesh. What is so intriguing about this work, according to Valentina Serrano, Owner and Artistic Director of Serrano Gallery, is that each unit can function as a standalone work of art, or can become the starting point for something else. She says “today’s tabletop sculpture can become tomorrow’s wearable art, or can become a vastly reconfigured art installation. You decide. You elect the context. You become the curator.”

As an accomplished metalsmith and product designer, Sammartino was inspired by the material itself. “The module (or individual unit) has no beginning and no end,” says Sammartino. “It is hand-fashioned from one piece of stainless steel woven wire cloth without seams. Each unit almost “makes itself” by revealing and suggesting different shapes and forms as it twists and turns during the process of guided manipulation.”

The art installation currently on view at Serrano Gallery is site-specific, and was configured through a collaboration that incorporated the artist’s vision and the curatorial expertise of Valentina Atkinson, owner and creative director of Serrano Gallery.

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INFINITO Into Space

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 9, 4 to 7 PM.

On view: Saturday, December 9 through February 28, 2018.

View more work by Mariana Sammartino.

For more information on INFINITO Into Space, or to schedule a visit, please contact Serrano Gallery, 713 724 0709.

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Image Credit: F. Carter Smith