An original project by the Italian artist that brings art and science into dialogue by exploring "non-optical images" (the visual processes through which the human brain forms mental images using all the senses except direct sight).
The Shape of the Air originates from the eponymous exhibition by Luca Spano presented in the spaces of the Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal. The book conveys the complexity of Spano's artistic research and the results of his residency at the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program (BRaIN) at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. Spano, who has always been interested in the links between art and science, explores in this work the ways in which we perceive, process and remember images. He considers images not only as what we acquire through sight, but also as mental images generated through non-optical processes. Critical contributions by neuroscientists, historians and art curators explore some of the central questions of Spano's work, investigating topics such as the relationship between images and consciousness, and the definition of an image itself.
Luca Spano (born 1982) is an Italian artist and professor whose practice investigates how reality is constructed and perceived through visual and representational frameworks. Working across photography, sculpture, installation, and text, he explores the limits of the broader concept of vision and its role in the processes of knowledge construction. His work frequently evolves through collaborations with institutions at the intersection of art and science.
Having completed his studies between Europe and the United States, Spano has exhibited internationally at venues including the MAXXI Museum and MACRO in Rome, Savvy Contemporary in Berlin, Galerie Bigaignon in Paris, and others. Works from these exhibitions are held in notable public and private collections, including the MAXXI Museum, MAN Museum, Nivola Museum, and Cornell University.
