Officina delle Zattere presents Beyond the lens, solo exhibition of works by Carlo D’Orta. The show, curated by Italo Bergantini and Gaia Conti, includes a selection of the most recent works by Italian photographer among large images, intriguing installations and delicate glass sculptures.

BEYOND THE LENS is not just an exhibition, is much more. It is the story of a semantic evolution that begins its journey with photography. The part which is strictly visual and could be defined as the objective result, is actually only a portion of the whole. What makes up the creative process and stands behind and beyond the lens is what really connects the artist intimately and intuitively with the object of his work.

The vision resides inside and outside our mind. Carlo’s intuition and vision are found in his ability to create organic unity in his way of working. I am referring to the “organic contextuality” expressed by philosopher Galvano della Volpe that limits a text within confines inside which every new element interacts with the others to enhance their meaning. In the same way, the work of D’Orta demonstrates how each element, starting with the margins of the photographic paper, and each new interpretation of their meaning determines the formal unity of the narration, whatever the medium.

A photographic tale is the result of a work of harmonious exploration, an abstract development of the urban environment that transfigures spatial relations. A glance that stretches beyond to disorient the spectator and removes any type of reference to transform architecture into patterns of shapes and colours. The same principle is utilized in the series of installations, the (S)composizioni, which become independent of the photograph and flow into 3-dimensional space. The same 3-dimension nature, de-structured in its form, becomes sculpture.

His works cut across the established concept of photography in a transversal manner. They tell visual tales with the constant (de)composition of the narrative line, expanding fluidly into the surrounding environment and opening new experimental circumstances for an artist who has most certainly found his voice BEYOND THE LENS on Italy’s art scene.