Micol Assaël

Micol Assaël was born in 1979 in Rome, Italy. With a background in philosophy, Assaël has consistently fused her academic interests with a fascination for natural phenomena, technological theories, and machinery. This interdisciplinary approach informs her artistic practice, which spans electricity, sound, and organic materials like wood and water. These elements evoke nature’s unexpected dangers and discomforts, shaping experiences that provoke physical and psychological reactions in the viewer.

Micol Assaël's Art Style

Assaël's work investigates the characteristics of matter, physical phenomena, and their interaction with human experience. Her installations often involve sensory and cognitive responses from viewers, generating unpredictable and sometimes uncomfortable situations. By using electricity, sound, and organic materials, she creates environments that challenge perceptions and elicit visceral reactions. This approach allows Assaël to explore the boundaries of human sensory and cognitive experiences, making her work intellectually and emotionally engaging.

Assaël's artistic practice is notable for its use of everyday materials and their interaction with natural forces. She often incorporates wood, glass, old telephones, floor planks, beams, and ceramic insulators for high-voltage lines into her installations. These materials are chosen for their communicative and connective physical properties. Through careful arrangement, she achieves a harmonious and balanced asymmetry that reflects her philosophical inquiries. Her work transforms ordinary objects into powerful conduits of meaning, creating dynamic relationships that challenge viewers to reconsider their understanding of the material world.

Exhibitions and Recognitions of Micol Assaël

Micol Assaël has exhibited extensively internationally. Notable solo exhibitions include "Converting Words" at Sprovieri, London (2020) and Plato Ostrava, Czech Republic (2021), "Zoo Zone Art Forum" in Rome (2018), and "Museo Riso" in Palermo (2017). Her work has also been featured at prominent venues such as Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan (2014), Museion in Bolzano (2010), Secession in Vienna, Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel, and Palais de Tokyo in Paris (all in 2009).

In group exhibitions, Assaël has participated in "The Earth Is Flat Again" at Museum Sztuki, Poland (2022), and shows at the Museum of Scultura Antica Giovanni Baracco in Rome (2021), Fondation Carmignac in Paris (2019), Goethe Institut in Rome (2018), and MAXXI in Rome (2017). Her work has also been included in major biennials such as the Rome Quadriennale (2020), Sydney Biennale (2008), São Paulo Art Biennial (2008), Berlin Biennale (2006), Moscow Biennale (2005), Manifesta (2004), and the Venice Biennale (2003 and 2005).

Exhibition Highlight: Converting Words

"Converting Words," presented at Sprovieri in London, was Micol Assaël's first solo show at the gallery. The exhibition featured four sculptures that epitomize her exploration of natural and physical phenomena and the interaction of ordinary materials with their surroundings.

The works showcased elements such as wood, glass, old phones, floor planks, beams, and ceramic insulators. In pieces like 意見 (Iken, meaning "opinion") and 学名 (Kumambaci, meaning "bee"), Assaël created dynamic relationships through balanced oppositions and asymmetrical compositions, prompting viewers to engage with the material's inherent properties and their implications.

The exhibition also included a futuristic vision of Rome, highlighting the city's vulnerability to hidden forces and climate change, and a poetic installation with an old window inscribed with "reality is not contemporary," which glows when traversed by light, blending concreteness and ephemerality.