FISHSKINLAB

FONDAZIONE GIORGIO CINI POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

I have received a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the Island of San Giorgio in Venice, specifically at the Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations and Spiritualities, previously named the Venice and the East Institute, founded in 1958. The second part of the fellowship will take place at the Archivio Luigi Pericle in Ascona, Switzerland. I am extremely grateful to both institutions for their generosity and warm welcome.

During the Utopia, Art, and Spirituality Research fellowship I aim to conduct a  study of mid-20th-century European abstract artist: Luigi Pericle By examining his sketchbooks, I seek to uncover the interplay between his artistic expressions and engagement with Zen calligraphy, mysticism, and Eastern philosophies.

Pericle was an avant-garde artist, integrating form, colour, and matter with mysticism, abstraction, and spiritual depth. Pericle's intellectual pursuits included astrology, theosophy, alchemy, and mysticism.  Pericle was an avid intellectual, with libraries that enriched his artistic practices.

Pericle retired to a small town, Ascona embracing alternative lifestyles and philosophies. His sketchbooks, comprising thousands of pages of reflections, offer invaluable insights into his creative processes and philosophical inquiries. My research will analyse these materials to illuminate their artistic evolution and legacy.