MASSIMODECARLO is delighted to announce a solo exhibition by the Italian artist Massimo Bartolini. As he represents Italy at this year’s Venice Biennale, Bartolini brings a selection of his most iconic works to our Hong Kong gallery. Bartolini embraces the theme of movement in its most whimsical and profound forms. Titled To Everything That Moves, the exhibition explores the interconnectedness of all things - organic, alive, and occasionally even the unremarkable.

In To Everything That Moves, Bartolini challenges the concept that motion is reserved solely for grand gestures or dramatic events. Instead, he suggests that everything, from the majestic to the mundane, is in perpetual flux.

In Petites Esquisses d'Arbres, Bartolini elevates the rustling of leaves from a simple background noise to a symphony. By blending the sounds of wind and trees with the delicate bird songs, reinterpreted by French composer and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen, Bartolini transforms the ordinary into a sonic performance. This acoustic composition suggests that nature is engaging in a musical dialogue with itself. The immersive soundscape of Petites Esquisses d'Arbres accompanies visitors throughout the exhibition, acting as an unexpected guide from one room to the next. This sound piece creates an organic narrative that gives voice to the silent whispers of trees.

In the Rugiada series, Bartolini explores the interaction between the dimensional qualities of painting and sculpture, and the interplay between landscape and dew. The artist stages a friendly competition between movement - embodied by droplets - and an apparent stillness. In Bartolini's work, the background, or landscape, transforms and changes, becoming surprisingly dynamic. The artwork remains in a state of constant flux, with each shift in light and perspective subtly altering its appearance. Originally monochromatic, the series spans a spectrum of landscapes - from fiery sunsets to submerged depths - thanks to a meteorological effect that continuously forms and reforms on the aluminum panel.

Continuing the theme of movement and stillness, Bartolini showcases one of his iconic marble pillars, titled Airplane, topped with paper airplanes. These structures serve as milestones, each named to mark an event related to the location of its display. This piece, described as a "tattoo," turns fleeting symbols of flight into permanent fixtures. The juxtaposition of the solid marble and the fragile paper airplanes highlights the futility of trying to anchor the ephemeral and the absurdity of attempting to capture and preserve transient moments. These works explore the nature of constant change and memory, much like historical monuments that honour significant events.

Extending this exploration, Emoji Carpet (To Everything That Moves) recontextualises a bamboo raft - originally a symbol of migration—into a carpet adorned with designs inspired by artist Galileo Chini's illustrations of migratory birds. This transformation from floating vessel to domestic object echoes modern-day navigation, now conducted via emojis rather than physical rafts. Bartolini here merges historical and contemporary themes, suggesting that even in our digital age, stories of movement and displacement remain enduring and absurd.

Through these works, Bartolini explores how movement - whether it’s the rustling of leaves, the migration of people and birds, or the shifting hues of a landscape - reveals the hidden connections that bind all things. To Everything That Moves embraces the idea of continuous change, suggesting that this fluid state provides the most profound insights into our existence. In a world where everything is perpetually shifting, it’s only fitting that the deepest truths emerge through movement.