2024-04-28T03:13:18-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150256139/artist-jr-cracks-open-florence-s-palazzo-strozzi-with-monumental-optical-illusion-installation Alexander Walter 2021-03-22T19:10:00-04:00 >2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/d9/d9a517d8105f004c1e382acdbb875409.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Titled La Ferita, Italian for &ldquo;The Wound,&rdquo; the work creates an optical illusion of a great gash running through the institution&rsquo;s external walls. Through the cracks, those on the outside can once again peer into a black-and-white vision of the interior of the shuttered building, with some of Florence&rsquo;s famous artworks and cultural heritage on view.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The new site-specific&nbsp;<a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/15257/optical-illusion" target="_blank">trompe-l'&oelig;il</a> installation &mdash; measuring 28 meters/92 feet tall and 33 meters/108 feet wide &mdash; by prolific French artist <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/753838/jr" target="_blank">JR</a> opened on March 19, shortly after many major Italian cities were ordered back under another <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/1534026/covid-19" target="_blank">COVID-19</a> lockdown. <br></p> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMjaUuhA5ws/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> View this post on Instagram </a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMjaUuhA5ws/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Palazzo Strozzi (@palazzostrozzi)</a><br><p>"By including iconic works of Florence&rsquo;s art heritage and directly citing real places such as the library of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento, JR proposes a direct and evocative reflection on accessibility not only to Palazzo Strozzi but to all cultural sites in the era of Covid-19," explains the <a href="https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/en/archivio/exhibitions/jr/" target="_blank">project description</a>. <br></p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/35/35df05737988d5786339e8b7ea8d1985.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/35/35df05737988d5786339e8b7ea8d1985.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Related on Archinect: <a href="https://archinect.com/features/article/150191213/how-art-and-design-museums-switched-to-working-from-home-and-sharpened-their-digital-experience" target="_blank">How Art and Design Museums Switched to Working From Home and Sharpened Their Digital Experience</a>. Photo: Wikimedia Commons user BRENAC/CC-BY-SA-3.0.</figcaption></figure><p>"Palazzo Strozzi becomes the spectacular stage for a symbolic yet painful wound suffered by all cultural institutions both in Italy and abro...</p>