OI Magazine - N. 31 - March 2022

83 OI magazine The practice of art today is necessary in contemporary society because it is precisely art that manages to make existence deeper than it commonly appears, making occult visions perceptible. The sculptural work of Franz Canins is a splendid testimony of how secret visions can be brought to light by artistic praxis: the external vision of the object is weakened -it’s phenomenal manifestation- operating an unprecedented synthesis between optical perception and inner contemplation. The pieces of work begin slightly differently from the visual image of an object, but they do not contradict it in its complexity. In other words, the artist expands the legacy of optical investigation -which is still used as a starting point to arrive at a new interpretation of the object- in which the object is expanded beyond its appearance to take on a new dimension, through what the common eye is limited to record: moving therefore from the optical exterior of the object, the sculptor, by intuition, draws conclusions on the interior of itself. The phenomenal impression urges the artist’s ego to intuitive conclusions that lead to an internalized vision. In essence, Franz Canins exemplifies that masterfully creative process, recounted by Paul Klee, in which the great painter argues that the artist is both terrestrial creature and creature within the whole (cf: Creative confession and other writings, Milan, Abscondita, 2004). The penetrating eye of the artist is a cognitive process that investigates through different dimensions because the individual’s ego participates, as a natural element, of a terrestrial root common to man, animals, plants, etc. but, at the same time, is intuitively aware of belonging to a sort of cosmic commonality that constitutes the universe in its totality. The pieces of work sculpted by Canins are able to get close to that secret ground where every living process is born and fed. The artist from Val Gardena claims in his more recent pieces of work, even more incisively, the freedom of the artist to be mobile like nature : once again light - which in all Canins’s sculptures is both natural and metaphysical- becomes a beacon that brings the artist’s hand to find hidden paths in the surface of the wood that is not smooth, sanded, but presents lines that seem to want to tell you about the life of the wood itself - you could call them expression marks- and reveal what will become its new use. The ‘wrinkles’ of wood play a dual role, spatial and temporal: constitute that thin space that captures the light which is partially absorbed and partially reflected by the wooden structure and make the surface itself dynamic, creating slight depressions of depth in the wood that contribute to make the outer part alive, almost Franz Canins is a sculptor artist in Valgardena. From 1975 to 87 he attended the art school in Ortisei, did his apprenticeship in various workshops in Ortisei, opened his own studio and graduated as a master sculptor. He participated in numerous group exhibitions from 1989 to 2012: in Ortisei, Munich, Merano, Berlin, Innsbruck, Velturno; Milan, Tuscany, Val Venosta, Expo 2000, Hannover, Vail Colorado USA, and then again Milan, Grono - Switzerland, “Daetz” Culture Center - Lichtenstein, Germany, Istitut Ladin Micurà de Rü - Val Badia, L’Aia EPO, Miami River Art Fair, Expo Bologna 2013-2014. Personal exhibitions, from 1994 to 2012: Merano - Banca Popolare Gallery; Tirolo –Castle Tirolo bird recovery center; Bolzano-Retucci Gallery; Venice - Basilica of Saints John and Paul; Grono-Switzerland, Istitut Ladin Micurà de Rü; and then in Verona, Parma, Turin. Works exhibited in public places from 2000 to 2006: Orecchiella Park - Garfagnana - Tuscany, Bird Recovery Center - Castle Tirolo, Ladin Museum San Martin de Tor - Val Badia. Massmedia (1998-2005): Airone; Articles in the various daily newspapers “Il Mattino” and “Alto Adige”, “Gazzettino di Venezia” and “Cenerentola” of Bologna; Mondadori modern art catalog. Franz Canins Via Pedetliva, 18- 39046 Ortisei (BZ) Mob. +39 333 8653668 canins.franz@tin.it ------------------------------------------------------ The artist who feesl the intimate essence of wood By Dr. Marina MANFREDI Prof. Fine Arts of Venice

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