Flipping through Olivo Barbieri‘s book “Dolomites Project 2010,” it’s easy to see why the northeastern Italian mountain range was recently declared a UNESCO natural heritage site. The craggy cliffs of these 250 million year-old mountains are surely some of the most sublime places on earth. That’s not, however, the point of the Barbieri’s project. The esteemed Italian artist views the Dolomites as a “story of the world seen upside down,” portraying them as spectacular entities colonized by commerce.
“Seascapes, great waterfalls, mountains and historic towns are fragile theme parks,” he says. “Entertainment has virtually replaced the sublime. Views of megalopolises can, by size and consideration, compete with nature in the human imagination, in terms of importance.”
Dolomites Project is on view at New York’s Yancey Richardson Gallery until the end of March.
Olivo Barbieri: Dolomite Project
