The new artwork of Fabio Viale: a wheel with a marble rose for a Miami car dealership
Over time we got used to seeing the sculptor artist Fabio Viale creating marble works of art which represent common objects. Viale, as an illusionist, places marble at the center of his transformations-performance. It is a heavy material though it becomes very light in his works not only in its plasticity but in its use.
In 2002 he surprised everyone with Ahgalla, a real boat made of marble that is able to float and move in the sea or rivers thanks to an outboard engine. This work was literally launched in Carrara and then went around the world. More recently he literally tattooed marble on reproductions of famous works in a subtle game between innovation and classicism.
Lately he proposed a new work, Rotas, that surprised everyone. He combined a common object, a wheel, with one of the greatest artistic expressions made of marble: a rose window. In addition, the rose window is one of Carrara’s symbol worldwide, such as the white marble one of Sant’Andrea Dom.
Viale’s massive artwork weighs 6 tons and has a diameter of 3 meters. It was created from a single marble block. The wheel is perfectly round and gives the impression of being able to easily roll. It was located in front of a luxury car dealership in Miami.
The artist took more than two years to sculpt it and it was finished by hand. This is the meaning of the work: “A symbolic design depicts how the art of race is focused on the spirituality of man and on the continuous search for progress: the tread of the marble tire has been carved in the surface with such an accuracy that it is possible to perceive usure; In the centre, the rays are finely carved and become neoclassical arches and columns that support a rose window inspired by the Cathedrals and Gothic churches “.