Ludovica Gioscia's process-led practice reads like a diary of layered experiences and relations, using the studio as a catalyst for non-linear ecological experiments. Alongside ceramics, fabric, papier-mâché, paper, watercolour and wallpaper, she often employs unusual materials, such as cat hair, distilled water from flowers, emotions and energy.
Gioscia’s work draws heavily from the Baroque in Rome, where she grew up, the significance of alchemy in studio practice, and her large archive of wallpapers containing motifs that stem from her mother’s DIY science lab, psychedelic explosions, telepathic brains, vintage jewellery auction catalogues, Paninaro patterns, Pasolini actors, Baroque interiors, ancient Roman ruins and the Rosetta Stone.
Since 2006, Gioscia has been creating large-scale site-specific wall-based installations, under the series title ‘Giant Decollage’, in which layered hand screen printed and commercial wallpaper are installed and then ripped back to reveal the strata underneath. The ‘Debris’ series, grew out of these, created by layering detritus accumulated whilst de-installing the installations.
Adopting a new modus operandi in 2016, which she titled the ‘Infinite Present’, Gioscia’s practice has significantly evolved, reflecting the new temporalities that have emerged with the digital revolution, in particular the scrambling of the linear. This has led to a studio practice that is constantly being reconsidered and renegotiated in which the past, present and future infinitely coexist. Ludovica describes her studio as having become a magical location in which artworks from the future and from other dimensions appear, and past creations are de-assembled and reconsidered.
Gioscia sees artworks as being alive, hence constantly evolving. Infused with a sort of animism, the creations stem from a deep enjoyment of working with materials. Fragments from previous installations and tools used to produce artworks, such as screen printing ink, gloves, brushes, sheets of protective plastic, make their way into her assemblages together with found objects, ‘Debris’, and other fabricated works in ceramic, wood, resin, Papier-mâché, and fabric.
Ludovica Gioscia (b. 1977, Rome, IT) lives and works in London. She holds a BA(Hons) in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art, London, UK (2000) and an MFA in Fine Art Media from The Slade School of Fine Art (2004). Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Fluor, Exibart, Exit Express, Flash Art International, Kunstforum, Etapes International, Elephant, The End and AN. Her work is included in ‘100 Sculptors of Tomorrow’, published by Thames and Hudson in 2019.
She has exhibited internationally at galleries and institutions including: Museo della Figurina, Fondazione Modena Art Visivie, Modena, IT; The Warhol Foundation, Pittsburgh, US; La Fabbrica del Cioccolato, Blenio, CH; Creative Centre Osaka, Osaka, JP; Palazzo da Mosto, Fondazione Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, IT; Fondazione MACC, Calasetta, IT; MACRO, Rome, IT; Palazzo Fiano, Rome, IT; La Centrale, Brussels, BE; FuturDome, Milan, IT; VITRINE, Basel, CH and London, UK; Baert Gallery, Los Angeles, US; Salon 94, The Flag Art Foundation, Allegra LaViola, NY, US; The Miro’ Foundation, Barcelona, ES; Jerwood Space, London, UK; South London Gallery, London, UK; MNAC, Bucharest, RO; Comfort Moderne, Poitiers, FR; Sotheby’s, London, UK; Kino International, Berlin, DE.
Current/forthcoming shows include 'Material Girls and their Muses' at VITRINE Fitzrovia in March 2024.
Saelia Aparicio, Ludovica Gioscia, Sacha Ingber, Hannah Lim, Cathie Pilkington, Ovartaci, Polly Apfelbaum, Heidi Bucher, Mariko Mori, Marion Adnams
Saelia Aparicio, Ludovica Gioscia, Sacha Ingber, Hannah Lim, Cathie Pilkington, Ovartaci, Polly Apfelbaum, Heidi Bucher, Mariko Mori, Marion Adnams
Saelia Aparicio, Ludovica Gioscia, Sacha Ingber, Hannah Lim, Cathie Pilkington, Ovartaci, Polly Apfelbaum, Heidi Bucher, Mariko Mori, Marion Adnams
Nadim Abbas, Nicole Bachmann, Edwin Burdis, Kara Chin, Anaïs Comer, Tim Etchells, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Ludovica Gioscia, Katrin Hanusch, Candice Jacobs, Sophie Jung, Rene Matić, Campbell McConnell, Paula Pinho Martins Nacif, Milly Peck, Sam Porritt, Ralph Pritchard, Natasha Rees, Bioni Samp, James Stopforth, and Charlie Godet Thomas.
