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Alessandro Teoldi

New Conditions

June 22 – August 4, 2017

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (AirFrance, Emirates and American Airlines)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (AirFrance, Emirates and American Airlines)
2016
Airline inflight blankets, framed
24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm)
AlTe 6

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (British Airways and Air France)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (British Airways and Air France)
2016
Airline inflight blankets, framed
24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm)
AlTe 11

Alessandro Teoldi Hug

Alessandro Teoldi
Hug
2017
Air dry clay
8 1/2 x 4 1/3 inches (21.6 x 11 cm)
AlTe 24

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (KLM, US Airways, Lufthansa and China Eastern Airlines)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (KLM, US Airways, Lufthansa and China Eastern Airlines)
2017
Airline inflight blankets
48 x 36 inches (121.9 x 91.4 cm)
AlTe 15

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (United, Air Europa and Northwest)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (United, Air Europa and Northwest)
2016
Airline Inflight Blankets
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 17

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Swissair, American Airlines and Avianca)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Swissair, American Airlines and Avianca)
2017
Airline inflight blanket
14 x 11 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
AlTe 18

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Airfrance, Delta, Northwest and Emirates)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Airfrance, Delta, Northwest and Emirates)
2016
Airline inflight blankets, framed
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 5

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Lufthansa, Airfrance, Emirates and Northwest)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Lufthansa, Airfrance, Emirates and Northwest)
2016
Airline inflight blankets, framed
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 16

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (AirIndia, Emirates, AirFrance and NorthWest)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (AirIndia, Emirates, AirFrance and NorthWest)
2016
Airline inflight blankets, framed
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 7

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (American Airlines, Mauritius Air and Lufthansa)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (American Airlines, Mauritius Air and Lufthansa)
2017
Airline inflight blanket
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 19

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Alitalia and Avianca)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Alitalia and Avianca)
2017
Airline inflight blanket
14 x 11 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
AlTe 20

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Alitalia, Air Europa and Avianca)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Alitalia, Air Europa and Avianca)
2017
Airline inflight blanket
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 21

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Lasker Airways, American Airlines and British Airways)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Lasker Airways, American Airlines and British Airways)
2017
Airline inflight blankets
14 x 11 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
AlTe 22

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (American Airlines and Avianca)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (American Airlines and Avianca)
2017
Airline inflight blankets
48 x 36 inches (91.4 x 121.9 cm)
AlTe 23

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Delta Airlines and American Airlines)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Delta Airlines and American Airlines)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm) each part
AlTe 1

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Aeromexico, Air Mauritius, ANA Airways, El Al, KLM, Delta, Lufthansa, British Airways, SwissAir, China Eastern and American Airlines)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Aeromexico, Air Mauritius, ANA Airways, El Al, KLM, Delta, Lufthansa, British Airways, SwissAir, China Eastern and American Airlines)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 2

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (AirLingus, Lufthansa, American Airlines, Air Mauritius, El Al,United Airlines, Aeromexico and SwissAir)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (AirLingus, Lufthansa, American Airlines, Air Mauritius, El Al,United Airlines, Aeromexico and SwissAir)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 9

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (AirLingus, China Eastern, Lufthansa, KLM, Kuwait Airways, British Airlines, SwissAir, American Airlines, ANA Arways, Azul Airlines, Aeromexico and Air Berlin)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (AirLingus, China Eastern, Lufthansa, KLM, Kuwait Airways, British Airlines, SwissAir, American Airlines, ANA Arways, Azul Airlines, Aeromexico and Air Berlin)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 8

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (El Al, AirBerlin, Delta, Avianca, Air Mauritius, British Airways, SwissAir, American Airlines and Lufthansa)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (El Al, AirBerlin, Delta, Avianca, Air Mauritius, British Airways, SwissAir, American Airlines and Lufthansa)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 13

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Aeromexico, Lufthansa, SwissAir, United Airlines, KLM, British Airways and US Airways)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Aeromexico, Lufthansa, SwissAir, United Airlines, KLM, British Airways and US Airways)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 4

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (China Eastern Airlines and AirFrance)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (China Eastern Airlines and AirFrance)
2017
Airline inflight blankets
14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
AlTe 12

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (AirEuropa, Air France and American Airlines)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (AirEuropa, Air France and American Airlines)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
AlTe 3

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Alitalia, Avianca, Delta, AirEuropa, American Airlines and Iberia)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Alitalia, Avianca, Delta, AirEuropa, American Airlines and Iberia)
2016
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 10

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Four AirFrance)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Four AirFrance)
2017
Airline inflight blankets, framed
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AlTe 14

Alessandro Teoldi Untitled (Northwest and Emirates)

Alessandro Teoldi
Untitled (Northwest and Emirates)
2017
Airline inflight blankets
40 x 30 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
AlTe 25

11R is pleased to present New Conditions, an exhibition of new works by Italian born, New York-based artist Alessandro Teoldi, on view from June 22nd to August 4th in 11R’s West Gallery. Teoldi’s practice encompasses installation, sculpture, photography, and textiles.

 

The series exhibited employs airplane inflight blankets collected by the artist, either through his own travels, friends and family, or from online stores such as Ebay or Etsy. The blankets, collected from different airlines, different times, and different places, are roughly cut and sewn together to form figurative representations of intimacy, seclusion, and embrace. Teoldi’s work grapples with the human need for community, closure, and comfort in a world that is dominated by the alienating forces of separation and consumption. The inflight blankets series analyzes the affective relationships that people establish with things and other people through the role of “transitional objects”, a term coined by pediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott. Transitional objects, such as blankets and teddy bears, serve as an important bridge between ‘the self’ and ‘the other’ as developing children start to see themselves as a separate entity from their mothers.

 

Airline blankets, mass produced and embroidered with airline logos, bring individuals a sense of calm and comfort in an otherwise confined, huddled, and noisy airplane. In a transient period, soaring between two nodes of certainty, their softness and weight provide a familiar sense of home and bodily content. They transition us from a sense of discomfort to protection, from a naked public anxiety to a warm, private, consolation as they themselves transition from a generalized commodity designed for no one to the fulfillment of a specific, individual desire. As the person moves from the public to the private, from general to specific, the blanket follows suit. Despite being surrounded by others, we are reminded of our isolation and alienation; we employ blankets to replace a confidant.

 

In Teoldi’s works, the gestures of hands become a dual symbol that signifies shame as well as reprieve. In the grip of shame, we cover our faces to conceal ourselves; in a moment of intimacy, we embrace our loved ones to soothe them with a gentle and familiar touch. Recognition through touch feeds back into the materiality of the work itself -- rough cuts through the fabric, the layering of different textures, and the visible stress of the fabric as it wraps snuggly around the stretcher bars, hugging the corners, are a tantalizing reminder of the tactile nature of the blankets. We desire these qualities in blankets because we ultimately desire it in other people.

 

Alessandro Teoldi is a New York-based artist born in Milan, Italy in 1987. He received his MFA from ICP-Bard College, New York and a BA in Photography from Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan. He has exhibited in venues including Baxter St at CCNY, New York; Spazio Morris, Milan; Artspace, New Haven; International Center of Photography, New York; Art Verona, Verona among others. He was one of the 2015 Workspace residents at Baxter St at The Camera Club of New York. Curatorial projects include Each Evening We See the Sunset at Spazio Morris, Milan (2013); Collected Goods (2014) and Driveway (2014) both at independent venues in Brooklyn and Queens, NY.