Sandra Muss is one of fifty international artists who will be exhibiting in OpenArtCode Florence in the Salone di Donatello of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, from April 19 to May 8, 2018. This site has a rich history, forming part of the Opera Medicea Laurenziana complex, which features extraordinary work by artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Michelangelo. By bringing a collection of painting, sculpture, photography, digital art and installations into this space, curator Vito Abba initiates a dialogue between the Renaissance and contemporary art, connecting works created half a century apart.

Permutations, Sandra Muss’ installation of seven nineteenth-century wooden doors illuminated by LED lights, will be prominently located at the end of the first aisle in the Salone di Donatello. Muss brings new life to these disused objects that, while formerly useful, have been discarded, corroded by the ravages of time. She imagines these doorways as gateways, portals between worlds that are thrilling, enlightening, and potentially transformative. This work draws from her travels to such diverse places as New Zealand, the Arctic Circle, and the Amazon. The way that Muss reflects on the passing of time, the mutation of everything, and the power of nature lend an immensely emotional, even spiritual, dimension to this work, one that is eminently suited to this sacred site.

Among other highlights of the exhibition are works by Stefano Sanna, who engraves, overlaps, scrapes and stratifies wood in a process similar to that of nature. The natural materials used by the Swedish interior designer Susanne Sjögren have an entirely different purpose, revealing a delicate artistic sensibility in the soft forms of her phytomorphic furniture sculpture. Design is also at the forefront of the aluminum works of David Wiener, who devotes much of his art to Formula 1 racing (it is no coincidence that his collectors include Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Jean Todt).

In addition to the rich and diverse variety of styles and techniques typical of the OpenArtCode artists, their works take us to different places across the world. Sumio Inoue works with black and white in photographs impressed on washi, a Japanese rice paper he makes himself. French photographer Etienne Pierart has documented the war in Syria and Iraq on behalf of the United Nations, but also offers peaceful images of far-off places like Antarctica. Hailing from Norway, Trond Are Berge overlays images to show great forests that plunge into the blue waters of the fjords, and stones smoothed by the icy north wind suspended in a clear sky.

The magic of digital manipulation emerges the colorful aluminum and plexiglass assemblages by Swiss artist Jane Sager. Color also dominates the intense paintings of William Braemer, portraits of women by Carolina Gynning and abstracts by Tiril. Other artists included in the exhibition are David Harry, Sara Palleria, Max Werner, Evelyne Huet, Marco Aurelio Rey, Sinae Lee and Marybel Gallegos.

About the Basilica of San Lorenzo

Built in the early fifteenth century, the Basilica of San Lorenzo is the oldest church in Florence. It is part of the Mediceo Laurenziano complex, which unites different structures that are rich in historical, cultural and artistic references, including: the Old Sacristy, entrusted to Filippo Brunelleschi and with pulpits carved by Donatello; the crypt, housing the Treasure of San Lorenzo, Cosimo the Elder’s tomb and Donatello’s tomb; the Medici Chapels with the Medici family mausoleum; the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo and the Laurentian Library, begun by Michelangelo and completed by Vasari and Ammannati.

About OpenArtCode

OpenArtCode is a diverse group of international artists brought together by curator Vito Abba. Based in Florence, Abba has organized OpenArtCode exhibitions in venues across the world, including in Paris at the Grand Palais, in Monaco at the Auditorium Rainier III, at the Oxo Gallery on the River Thames in London, in Shanghai at Pudong Library and CEIBS, in Venice at Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, in Cannes at the Gare Maritime and in Tokyo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

Exhibition Details

Dates: April 19-May 8, 2018.

Location: Salone di Donatello, Basilica of San Lorenzo

Piazza San Lorenzo, Florence.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10am-5.30pm (last admission at 5pm), Sunday 1.30pm to 5.30pm (last admission at 5pm).

Free admission.

www.openartcode.com/florence