Ilaria Vinci, «Phoenix Philosophy Café»

In her practice, Vinci explores what she calls the «Zone of Fantasy»: the area in the human psyche where self-perception and world-perception meet and blur. The artist explores what constitutes reality and how people communicate and imagine. To this end, she creates installations, props and writings that make use of visual and linguistic vocabulary, start with the everyday, but always tip over into the fantastic.

For «Phoenix Philosophy Café» Ilaria Vinci took as her starting point a particular type of fireplace that has its origin in the south of Italy in the beginning of 1900: A kind of living alcove where people gather, share stories, debate, eat, drink, or play together. The partially burnt furniture, which the artist created through skillful paint effects, underline the reference to the fireplace. Kept in shades of gray, the tables and chairs however seem slightly removed, as if from an old black-and-white film. In complete contrast, the colorful flickering flames in the background are reminiscent of Tiffany lamps, a special technique of glass processing in the Art Nouveau style. The fireplace aesthetic – which includes brick pillows designed by Vinci with a digital aesthetic – in connection with the lamps turns into an avant-garde grand café atmosphere. Both the fireplace and the café are places of encounter and exchange, with fire having a special aesthetic and social power.