Art in Sacred Spaces: ‘Antlitze’ exhibition by Sergio Sommavilla

Art in a sacred space: From 5 July to 14 September, the exhibition ‘Antlitze’ by South Tyrolean sculptor Sergio Sommavilla can be viewed at the Kunstraum Jesuitenkirche Hall, with free admission. There will also be guided tours for adults and children throughout the summer.

For the fourth time this summer, an exhibition can be admired at the Jesuitenkirche Hall Art Space. Following on from Hall-based artist Hellmut Bruch last year, this year’s exhibiting artist is Brixen-based sculptor Sergio Sommavilla, in keeping with the spirit of the Euregio and town twinning initiatives. The exhibition “Antlitze” offers a fascinating encounter between Baroque and contemporary art. Sommavilla’s archaic-looking heads, crafted from a wide variety of materials, infuse the art space in the Jesuit Church with a mystical atmosphere.

Marlies Lüdtke, who is familiar with Sommavilla’s body of work, writes as follows: “Like a procession, in the sense of a ‘church service’ – implying the church as a place of encounter – his sculptures occupy the church interior. In their simplicity, they blend seamlessly with the magnificent Baroque décor of the Jesuit Church in Hall.

The heads, with their mystical, meditative expressions, fit meaningfully into the church, even though they were not explicitly created for this space. The heads – carved from stone, modelled from clay, partly engobed and crafted from wood – reflect the artist’s long-standing engagement with his subject. In particular, the serene expression initially suggests an alluring quality, only to withdraw it again, so that viewers are drawn into a quiet dialogue with themselves and the object. Presented on stelae at eye level, the works appear all the more as a link between the real world (the viewer) and the transcendent (the divine.”

“This exhibition is not one that admonishes, criticises or condemns, but rather one that highlights diversity and beauty. Sommavilla’s heads, with their southern European lightness, are intended to make the viewer forget, if only for a moment, the gloomy mood in the world and perhaps bring a carefree smile to their face,” says co-organiser Gerhard Watzek. “Nevertheless, the arrangement of the procession within the church invites reflection – on things that lie far beyond the realm of the tangible. Or simply on oneself.”
The exhibition will open quietly on 5 July from 11.00 am in the presence of the artist. On 1 and 22 August (at 4 pm on both days), Anita Töchterle-Graber from the Hall-Wattens Regional Tourist Board will lead tours of the church and the exhibition. There will also be special children’s tours led by Regina Hundegger on 14 August and 4 September (both at 10 am). To round off the event on 14 September (6 pm), the Hall-based choir Stimmsalz will perform “Alles im Kopf” in the church.