Mauro Panzera, About a recent series of images by Claudio Abate

[It is difficult for me to separate the film of contemporary art history, I mean the works, the installations, the performances, everything that by its nature could not be repeated, from the photographs of Claudio Abate. What was for me, at a time of ignorance, documentation, is now, in its subtle way, in its turn a work of art.
The search for the ‘exact vision’ of the work, as strived for by Medardo Rosso and Brancusi, seems to continue in the work of Claudio Abate. Hence he built the category of ‘art photographer’ to which Italy has presently made such a generous contribution…]

[…Now we are faced with a new investigation, a series broken up into 10 images + one which acts as an outside voice. The format of the series is strictly square, while ‘the external voice’ is rectangular, but vertical, befitting of traditional painted portraits.
A police-style investigation around an emblematic place of personal hygiene and the external reassurance: Everything under control. A self-portrait reflected in the candid bathroom toilet…
…Dominating the structure is the grille, square tiles outlined by deep black lines. Without doubt the reference is to Mondrian, in association with his consideration of the stillness of the world of hygiene. But there are also curved lines, like details of porcelain sculptures. The square theme is repeated in the photographic print format. But the allusion to Mondrian can gain substance if we note that the cut of the image is often rotated by around 90° to produce the perception of a diagonal line. This means that the architectural space pushes in the direction of obsession – reminiscent of Hitchcock’s telephone box in The Birds…]