After almost fifteen years of absence, the sculpture Prato88 by Mauro Staccioli (Volterra, 1937 - 2018) is about to return to its original place at the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art in Prato. The museum itself announced this morning on its social channels. The work, a symbol of the close relationship between the museum and the territory, had been donated by Elda Franchi Pecci, in memory of her husband Enrico Pecci, on the day of the Center’s inauguration in 1988, and had immediately taken on an iconic role in the city’s urban landscape.
The major reinstallation project is now in its final stages: the work, begun with the aim of returning to the community one of the most recognizable signs of the museum’s presence in the area, is almost complete. Shortly, Prato88 will thus return to be an integral part of the city’s daily life, re-proposing the visual and symbolic relationship that has characterized the entrance to Pecci for more than 20 years.
The work, one of the most significant testimonies of Mauro Staccioli’s poetics, embodies the artist’s desire to create sculptures conceived not as isolated elements, but as interventions capable of dialoguing directly with the surrounding space. Prato88 was conceived specifically for the Pecci Center and its urban location, merging in a single plastic sign the monumentality of form and the lightness of the relationship with the environment.
The removal of the work, which took place almost fifteen years ago during the museum’s expansion works designed by Dutch architect Maurice Nio then completed in 2016, had left a void not only physical but also symbolic. The return of the sculpture thus marks a moment of recomposition of Prato’s cultural landscape, a circumstance that returns to the city an element that is part of its recent memory.
The reinstallation project, which will also give the sculpture a new location (it will be diagonal to the museum entrance and was conceived after a discussion between Centro Pecci and Archivio Staccioli), required a complex preparation phase, in which the work was restored and structurally verified to ensure its stability and durability. The work is in fact a large metal crescent with a concrete covering, attached to an underground plinth, At the same time, work was carried out to adapt the placement area to accommodate the sculpture while respecting both the technical requirements and the original design conceived by Staccioli. The restoration cost 220,000 euros.
Mauro Staccioli, who was born in Volterra in 1937 and died in 2018, was one of the most internationally appreciated Italian sculptors. His artistic research has always focused on the relationship between sculpture and space, with interventions that, while having a strong formal value, do not impose themselves in a self-referential way, but seek a constant dialogue with the context in which they are inserted. Prato88 is an emblematic example of this approach: a sharp, essential form that integrates into the urban texture, transforming it and making it recognizable.
With the completion of the work expected soon, the Pecci Center is thus preparing to officially welcome the sculpture back, restoring a presence that over the years has become an integral part of the collective visual memory. The wait is almost over: Prato88 is about to return home.
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| Mauro Staccioli's sculpture "Prato88" returns to Pecci Center after 15 years |
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