ARTIST EDOARDO DIONEA CICCONI BRINGS THE HUES OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS TO HOTEL DE RUSSIE’S GARDENS
The artist’s installation “150-93” will preview today, 20th April, lighting up the historic monumental garden of the Hotel de Russie, designed by Giuseppe Valadier in the 19th century. The title of the installation refers to the distance between the Earth and the Sun which determines the equilibrium of our very existence. The triangular prism of mirrors – in dialogue with the garden’s nature and architecture – absorbs sunlight during the day, becoming transparent during the night and from the first light of dawn emanating the true colours of the Northern Lights.
On the evening of 21st April Earth Day, artist Edoardo Cicconi will present his work “AKR”, a public monumental installation which, from the Terrazza del Pincio in Villa Borghese, will illuminate the sky over Rome for a whole night, with a “sculpture of light” reproducing the colours of the aurora borealis in movement.
From 21st April to 19th May Hotel de Russie will host both the site specific installation “150-93”in the garden, and the work titled “XYZT”, a kinetic mirror that reflects, distorts and merges the viewer with the surrounding space.
This is a twofold commitment on the part of the Hotel de Russie to sustain the arts and, for International Earth Day, turn the spotlight on the importance of safeguarding our ecosystem
Edoardo Dionea Cicconi | is a contemporary Italian artist who works with installations, sculptures, sound and other media. He returns to the city of his birth after an absence of eight years to present an institutional project sponsored by the Comune di Roma, and Earth Day Italia, in collaboration with the National Institute of Astrophysics and the Cadogan Gallery of London. By addressing universal themes, the artist attempts to find a synthesis between art and science, exploring the concept and perception of “time” His most recent personal exhibitions have been set both in museums and institutions and in site-specific land-art projects.
Set at the foot of the Pincio hill between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, Hotel de Russie opened in the year 2000 under the banner of Rocco Forte Hotels. The history of the Hotel dates back to the early 19th century when its construction was entrusted to the architect Giuseppe Valadier, who in those years was simultaneously building the hemicycles, which create the oval shape of Piazza del Popolo. The resulting building, which included a garden in the Italian style divided into terraces and the adjacent palace owned by the Torlonia family, respectively became “The Russian Hotel” and “The British Isles Hotel”, both frequented by international aristocracy. Regular visits from representatives of the Russian Imperial House, along with numerous Russian intellectuals and Russian Romantic painters, eventually determined the name Hotel de Russie. Over time the Hotel has consolidated its fame on the international artistic and cultural scene, hosting luminaries like the painter Giacomo Frey, the sculptor John Gibson (pupil of Canova), Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. In the year 2000 the interior renovation of the historic building was entrusted to the architect Tommaso Ziffer and carried out in collaboration with Olga Polizzi, Design Director of Rocco Forte Hotels, creating an eclectic interior design that showcases a unique ‘melting pot’ of both historical and modern influences where contemporary design ideas blend perfectly with the classic architecture of the building. Today the Hotel de Russie continues to be a reference point for jet setters and artists at both a national and international level.
