Rachel Lee Hovnanian's angels are on display in Pietrasanta.

U.S. artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian (Parkersburg, 1959) is featured in a new solo exhibition in Italy: You are not alone. Angels Listening is the exhibition with which Hovnanian addresses the theme of human relationships in contrast to growing contemporary narcissism and loneliness. The appointment is in Pietrasanta, at the Complesso di Sant’Agostino, in the Piazza del Duomo and the streets of the historic center, from March 30 to June 2, 2024. The exhibition is promoted by the City of Pietrasanta with the collaboration of The Project Space, Pietrasanta, and curated by Annalisa Bugliani and Alessandro Romanini.

Rachel Lee Hovnanian, an American artist with a long history of frequenting Pietrasanta and Versilia, has created a complex of works ranging from sculpture to painting, from neon to interactive and environmental installations, involving various places in the city. This exhibition was designed specifically for Pietrasanta and its spaces, creating an ever-closer link between the artist and the city due to the fact that the works were created in local workshops and foundries. This art project aims to stimulate reflection on human connection, relationships and the search for a sense of community in an age characterized by increasing individualization and isolation.

“A new stage in Rachel Lee Hovnanian’s long and coherent poetic and stylistic research,” explain the two curators, “which focuses attention on the human being in its various declinations and on human interactions and the threats of alterations to the concept of identity, relationship and the very principle of reality and truth, exerted by pervasive contemporary technologies. His works are devices that invite the visitor to reflect on the drifts of contemporary narcissism, an investigation in the form of artistic expression that the artist directs on a historical conjuncture such as ours, on a society based on communication that does not generate community, digital connections without relationships. Lee Hovnanian reaffirms and strongly emphasizes the salvific role that art in all its forms can play by moving from a simple aesthetic element to a means of identity enhancement, a tool that produces human relationships.”

The exhibition route begins in Cathedral Square with the monumental sculpture entitled Poor Teddy in Repose. This imposing bronze work, 4.5 meters long and finely patinated by the skilled hands of local artisans, depicts a teddy bear pierced by a knife. In the artist’s poetics, this sculpture symbolizes childhood interrupted and threatened, not only by violence, but also by theencroachment of technology over human affections. Inside the church of St. Augustine, an articulated exhibition itinerary is developed that aims to respect and enhance the architectural and ritual identity of the religious building. The path begins with the seven white bronze busts of angels from the Angels Listening series, each of which has its mouth clamped shut with crossed tape. This symbolizes both resistance to truth imposed by social structures and an encouragement to active listening and openness to others.

Opposite the seventeenth-century marble altar is a work that directly engages the visitor: The Cathartic Box. In this installation, the viewer is invited to individual reflection and introspection, as well as to express “blocked” or removed thoughts by writing them on small manuscripts that become an integral part of the exhibition. In this way, each visitor leaves a tangible and personal trace, contributing to the richness and diversity of the exhibition. In the apse of the church, next to the precious wooden choir, is the Silver Confessional installation, which consists of a reworking of a confessional. This element symbolizes the need for individual introspection and the burden of social control and the need for confession. In the same space of the apse, there is also a work consisting of a luminous sign, X Listening Neon, which refers to the confusion of the concept of truth and social judgment, including through social media.

The exhibition continues in the Cloisters, where the Chapter House features an installation reminiscent of a small children’s home, called House of Poor Teddy. Here, visitors can interact by looking inside, in a dimension that recalls the memory of childhood and its pedagogical and identity meanings. On the opposite side of the cloister, in the Putti Room, a series of pictorial and sculptural works are exhibited that create muffled and suspended atmospheres, reworking relational and existential themes with traditional techniques and contemporary iconography. In the garden of the cloister of St. Augustine is the Garden of Hope, an environmental installation that engages visitors in an experiential dimension, stimulating meditation and introspection through not only sight but also smell.

Finally, in the natural space of the Snail Park, the exhibition is completed with a naturalistic environmental installation. Here, botanical and floral elements compose the word HOPE, inviting hope and connection with nature to counter the drifts of contemporary society.

The exhibition is open Tuesday through Friday with free admission from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday and holidays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., closed Monday. For information “Luigi Russo Cultural Center,” Via Sant’Agostino 1 Pietrasanta, tel. 0584795550, website: www.museideibozzetti.it.

Rachel Lee Hovnanian's angels are on display in Pietrasanta.

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