Nonsense, 1982
GPO-0468
Pencil and red pencil on paper, on wood and on wall
Nine framed parts 42.5 x 30.5 cm each, overall dimensions variable
Private collection, Milan
The nine elements should be placed at the centre of the wall; on both sides the sequence continues with a drawing of linear rectangles of the same size as the frames.
The number of rectangles depends on the length of the wall and the specific display: from a minimum of three per side, to the occupation of the entire wall. The outermost rectangle stays open (only half of it is outlined), indicating the potential continuation ad infinitum (in the case of just three squares per side, two are whole, while the third is partial).
Nine framed sheets bear the inscription, at the top of the left edge of the frames, of the letters that make up the title, while on the front of the sheets, starting from the second element, a pencil drawing traces the side profile of the canvases "already seen" by way of a gradual vertical scan from left to right. Each time, the drawing becomes part of the last band, with the transcription in red pencil of the letter written on the edge of the canvas that immediately precedes it.
On both sides of the succession of frames, a drawing of linear rectangles follows the sequence, amplifying the reading of the "nonsense" in a virtually endless perspective.
The same theme was formulated in a previous variant on canvas, made in 1981 (GPO-0461).
| 1982 | Milan, Galleria Françoise Lambert, Giulio Paolini. Mnemosine/Nonsense, from 31 March. |
| • | Giulio Paolini, vol. Images/Index (Villeurbanne: Le Nouveau Musée, 1984), repr. p. 58 (exhibition view Milan 1982). |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 468 p. 480, repr. (exhibition view Milan 1982). |
