Herbert Golser in dialogue with Alberto Burri - Rocca Paolina, Perugia, Italy
HERBERT GOLSER - MATTER
Rocca Paolina, Perugia
June 12 - 30, 2025
Vernissage: June 12, 6 p.m.
Curated by Riccardo Freddo
In collaboration with La Casa degli Artisti and Gallery Rosenfeld.
From June 12 to June 30, 2025, Perugia's historic Rocca Paolina will host “Matter,” a solo exhibition by Austrian sculptor Herbert Golser, curated by Riccardo Freddo of the London-based Rosenfeld Gallery and produced in collaboration with La Casa degli Artisti.
The exhibition route develops in perfect harmony with the imposing architecture and centuries-old memory of the Rocca Paolina. Golser's works - all in wood - establish a silent and evocative dialogue with the walls of the ancient fortress, creating an ethereal and delicate atmosphere in which the material becomes the absolute protagonist. This encounter between contemporary sculpture and historic architecture culminates in the symbolic and formal confrontation with one of Alberto
Burri's most impressive works, Il Grande Nero, creating an ideal bridge between two apparently distant but intimately connected plastic visions.
Golser, deeply rooted in the Tyrolean sculptural tradition, elevates his work on wood to a level of extreme refinement and introspection. His sculptures-the result of a long process of subtracting and listening to the material-express a constant tension between solidity and fragility. The artist works wood with monastic patience, digging into its essence until it is almost transparent, as if the material were breathing. Each work is a poetic gesture that reveals the infinite possibilities of nature and the spirituality it holds.
The sculptures on display also reflect an almost pantheistic view of existence, in which art and nature merge in a visual meditation that escapes the dictates of time and fashion. In an age dominated by concept and speed, Golser chooses slowness, depth, and purity of gesture.
“Matter” is not just an exhibition, but an immersive experience in which the visitor is invited to listen to the silence of form, to perceive the secret life of wood, to find - among the ancient stones of the Rock - an authentic connection with the natural world.
