Nanda Vigo, the inner space

A2. AMBIENTE CRONOTOPICO

Ambiente Cronotopico, 1968 - Copy produced under the direction of the Archivio Nanda Vigo, 2021 - Impressed glass, metal, neon
Courtesy of Archivio Nanda Vigo, Milan, in collaboration with Glas Italia © Valérie Sadoun

The artist pursued her chronotopic research, seen first in the courtyard. The wall-mounted and free-standing works previously viewed from a distance are now experienced from within, penetrating inside her Ambiente Cronotopico, conceived for the first time in 1968 for the Eurodomus exhibition in Turin.

Throughout the 1960s, Nanda Vigo developed her concept of space-time, interpreting it in different ways. To that end, she drew up a lexicon of forms in line with her chronotopic theory and created spectacular environments with names like Ambienti Cronotopici Vivibili (liveable chronotopic environments), Labirinti (labyrinths) and Ambiente Cronotopico (chronotopic environment). Designed for events taking place in different locations, these environments physically engage visitors at the heart of the artist’s work.

They symbolise an important stage in her practice. Nanda Vigo conceived them as a place of research, in which the arousal of the senses takes precedence over form. The way the materials interact with the light creates multiple reflections, animated directly by the visitors’ presence, resulting in a sense of disorientation. Time becomes relative and space infinite.