Mirko Baselgia

Mirko Baselgia's new works are part of the “Coprinus Comatus project”, which so far consists of series of drawings and paintings. The artist's fascination with the Coprinus comatus (shaggy ink cap) was the catalyst for this series of works. This common mushroom uses an unusual method to distribute its spores: In a process of self-digestion - autolysis - its cap and gills dissolve and turn into a black, sticky ink to spread the spores. Self-destruction here takes on an unexpected positive meaning, allowing the next generation to grow. Fascinated by this particular phenomenon, the artist searched for these fungi in the meadows, using their ink and sometimes the fungi themselves to create his works. In the four works of the new edition, two compositions of ink spots of the shaggy ink cap were each printed on two different grid backgrounds each.

The main source of inspiration for the present works is a central passage from the “Tractatus logico-philosophicus” (1922) by the philosopher of language Ludwig Wittgenstein and his reflections on human perception. The central theme is an examination of the nature of language and its ability to represent reality. In the passage in question, Wittgenstein uses the image of a black spot on a sheet of white paper to explain the concept of truth. He suggests that the shape of the spot can be described by saying for each dot on the sheet whether it is white or black, but that in order to do this we must first define under what circumstances a dot is white and under what circumstances it is black. The author then points out that if we applied different kinds of grids to the same sheet and counted each time how many grid points contained even a bit of black, we would always get at a different result. Among other things, this analogy raises the question of perception as a complex phenomenon that not only varies from person to person, but also depends on the grid one uses.

Working with a versatile range of media and materials, Mirko Baselgia engages in depth with the dynamics and structures that characterize our world in order to highlight the reciprocal relationships that link all living organisms to each other and to their environment. Concepts such as territory, natural resources, and transience are central to his artistic practice. With his subtle explorations of materiality, the multisensory experience of art plays a central role in many of his creations. His works explore and suggest new ways of shaping our interaction with the environment and other forms of life.

Mirko Baselgia's most recent institutional exhibitions have been at Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Rapperswil-Jona (2021) and Abbatiale de Bellelay (2018). He has been included in numerous group exhibitions at Kunstmuseum Chur (2021), Museo Villa dei Cedri, Bellinzona (2020), and MUDAC, Lausanne (2019), among others. His works are in the collections of institutions such as the Muzeum Susch or the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur. Text: Laura Giudici

Aviöl:
These bees no longer swarm out. One day Mirko Baselgia found 11 dead animals on the windowsill in his studio. For many years the artist has been working with these insects, among other things. The subject of bees (especially the death of bees) has occupied scientists and artists for a long time. Baselgia's examination of bees began in 2010. At the Kunstmuseum Chur, for example, he showed an oversized honeycomb made of Swiss stone pine or beehives made of walnut wood. Baselgia is not a hardcore activist - a possible criticism of the treatment of animals (use/exploit) is subcutaneously present in his projects. Why the small format? A key experience is an Albrecht Dürer exhibition in Venice, where small prints were exhibited. It was impossible to grasp them in passing. They forced Baselgia to slow down. The small format, if you want to see it clearly, forces you to slow down, promotes the intimacy between viewer and work of art. In "Aviöl", it is also impossible to tell from a distance whether flies, bees or other insects are involved. The heliogravures "Aviöl I-IV" mark the temporary end of the bee cycle for Baselgia - they create a special monument to these special animals.

Igl tor muribund:
Also with this graphic series Mirko Baselgia completes a cycle, the one about the bull. For a long time he questioned the handling of the ("product") bull. From the artist's point of view it is "done" three times, it is a death in three installments: The bull is dehorned, castrated, slaughtered. Baselgia has created works on all three stages in recent years. With the dehorning, the animal is deprived of its "weapons". Horn copies made of alabaster have become exhibits. With castration, reproduction and part of the wild power are stopped. As a symbol of this, Baselgia has had bull testicles cast in bronze. The physical death of the animal is now treated in this series of prints. The fur of an adult bull was cut into 41 pieces and used as a print template (one can speak of a "dermotype"). There is only one print from each piece of fur. The bull is, like every animal and now also as a work of art, something unique, a unicum.