MATtam 10

Manto Arte Temporanea | Temporary Art Manto
short exhibitions in found spaces

Cortile Coprat | Via Marmorini 2 | Mantova

Jim Toia

Petri Island (Isola Petri)

Sunday April 15 2012
only between 4:30 and 6:30 PM

A Petri dish is a shallow glass or plastic cylindrical lidded dish that biologists use to culture cells or small moss plants. I will provide Petri dishes to any individual willing to follow he basic parameters defined below. Please treat this Petri dish as an aesthetic experiment and a haven for a life of aesthetic activity. This should remain a broad sweeping idea without preconception. Whatever action you choose to make, some simple conditions must prevail:

1. The notion of an island or islands must be the genesis for any activity taken.
2. Imagery must remain abstract. No representational imagery in the form of recognizeable rendering will be accepted. Symbols are an accepted form of abstraction.
3. The final work must remain within the Petri dish itself. No dishes with extensions or additions will be accepted.
4. The work must be able to mount vertically to the wall. Therefore, nothing loose should remain inside the dish or it will fall to the bottom. However, if you intend for elements to fall to the bottom, you may do so.
5. All Petri dishes will have a cap placed on the dish upon completion.
6. Works are going to be returned to Jim Toia. This project will not be sold. It may, however, be re-exhibited or gifted to an institution in the future.

"An island can be a concept, an image, a specimen. Addressing physical structure and common purpose can help define both the macro and the micro, allowing us to reflect on he human condition."

Jim Toia (nato 1961) vive nelle colline del New Jersey, vicino al suo luogo di nascita. Ha scelto di vivere lì come rifugio dalla metropoli e anche perché è vicino ai centri di arte contemporanea. È rappresentato dalle gallerie Kim Foster di New York e Haines di San Francisco. Diplomato al Bard College ha poi conseguito un Master alla School of Visual Arts di New York. La sua arte è presente in molte collezioni pubbliche e private negli Stati Uniti e in Europa.