Melissa McGill

Totah invites you to experience Melissa McGill's Campo Box (Santa Maria Nova), a sound installation on view in the downstairs gallery space.

The Campi is a sculptural sound project that invokes the Venetian Campo: an open, irregularly shaped public square that is the historic heart of the neighborhood. The architectural footprints of five different campi are translated precisely into three dimensions, taking the form of a series of elegant black lacquered wooden boxes, reminiscent of music boxes. When closed, each box murmurs softly until the viewer lifts the lid to release a world of everyday ambient sounds recorded in that particular campo, capturing the imagination as it conjures up the rich environments of these centers of Venetian living architecture. The sense of sound transports the listener, evoking both aural and visual memory.

The Campi, Venice, Italy, was first exhibited on May 8, 2017 coinciding with the opening week of La Biennale di Venezia - 57th International Art Exhibition.

Melissa McGill is an interdisciplinary artist who creates ambitious, large-scale site-specific art projects, and works in a variety of media, including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, sound, light and immersive installation. Her works connect viewers to overlooked histories and traditions and heightens awareness of our surroundings. Based in New York, McGill lived in Venice from 1991-93, and has re-turned regularly for inspiration, research and artistic collaborations for over two decades. Red Regatta is the artist’s second major project that raises awareness of Venetian life and culture. Her previous sculptural sound work, The Campi, May 2017, invoked daily life in the Venetian Campo and was presented at Carlo Scarpa’s Casa/Studio Scatturin, Università IUAV di Venezia and Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art in Venice, Italy. The Campi was curated by Chiara Spangaro and sponsored by Magazzino Italian Art. McGill has been exhibiting her artwork nationally and internationally since 1991, including solo exhibitions at Francesco Pantaleone Arte Contemporanea, Milan; White Cube, London; Manitoga: The Russel Wright Design Center, Garrison New York; Power House, Memphis; Palazzo Capello, Venice; and CRG Gallery, New York.