Mery Godigna Collet was born in Venezuela and spent her childhood and part of her adolescence in post-war Europe. She grew up with the label of having a nationality from an oil producing country without any physical or psychological connection to it. So in her child’s mind petroleum became a kind of magical source of curiosity. Years later, after having fastidiously studied the impact, the history, the physical characteristics and even poetry concerning this “Minotaur”, she decided to confront it in this last series of works called “Extra Virgin Petrus Oil”. The energy theme became the driving force behind the research she had been carrying out in recent years.

           Mery Godigna Collet creates works of art that deal with ecological issues as a serious and fundamental concern facing mankind. The constant use of vegetable fibers and the process used to work them (learned in Egypt) in an almost alchemical way, makes the conversion of this material into something new and sublime.

           In her own words: “In my trajectory as an artist there has always been an ecological concern that has driven me to study the origins of materials and the origins of the aspects of the collective subconscious.  Petroleum comes from a fundamental origin and is a basic tenet in our subconscious understanding of energy and industrial development.”

For some critics, Mery Godigna’s works reflect the interior landscape of her own being. For others the way she uses materials reminds us of the movement from the late 60’s called “Arte Povera”. They name her style “Arte Povera from the 21st Century”.

           If there is a way of characterizing her work as a post modern artist it should be through the search for synthesis. After studying the classical masters such as Raphael and Michelangelo, the modern masters such as Picasso and Pollock or the cultural expressions of different ethnic groups, she proposed synthesis as an all-encompassing plastic language that promotes universality to the meaning of works of art and liberates them from any colloquialisms.  

           In the series entitled “Extra Virgin Petrus Oil” her work is elaborated with petroleum and its by-products as well as vegetable fiber, specifically from the sugar cane plant used as an allegory to represent the incursions of ethanol into the energy market. The result of this new approach is the interaction between agriculture and mining. 

http://petroleummuseum.org/Exhibits/FeaturedExhibits2.html

Petroleum, in the 150 years since the start of its commercialization, has become part of our lives and hence part of our collective psyche.

           By locating basic material on a subliminal level then transforming it into a topic of reflection and psychosocial analysis, this process promotes a conscious approach to the contemporary use of nature. This is her approach to identifying and symbolizing the moral, psychological and spiritual concerns of man and his relationships with himself, so as to comprehend this relationship within an ecological framework.  

                       The pieces of this new series "Extra Virgin Petrus Oil" are oily surfaces where the spectator finds himself reflected, sometimes as an individual, other times as part of a community, but always submerged in this petroleum dependent world.

Once again the artist shows the interest in the conversion of the materials as part of a cycle of life, dead, and resurrection.

           Mery Godigna Collet has exhibited her artwork in Italy, France, Belgium, Spain and Holland. Also in Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia. In New York, Palm Springs and Miami. Her artwork is part of important private as well as museum collections like the  Galleria d’Arte Moderno Aroldo Bonzagani, Bologna, Italy, Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, France, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo del Zulia, Venezuela, and Museum of the Americas in Florida.

Venezuelan artist and architect, born in Caracas in 1959. One of the most relevant artists in contemporary art in these days in Venezuela.

Collect began her artistic assemblages during her adolescence. She attended the Real Escuela de Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. Later she obtained a degree in architecture from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. She traveled to Egypt and learned the antique techniques of papyrus elaboration and this will inspired her artistic exploration of vegetal fibers.

Her works are in the collections of the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo del Zulia (MACZUL), in Venezuela, the Galleria D’Arte Moderno Aroldo Bonzagni in Cento Italy and the Museum of the Latin American Art in Miami, USA. Her works has been exhibid at the Sala de Arte de la Siderurgica del Orinoco, the Museo del Discurso de Angostura, the Fundación Centro de Estudios Latino Americanos Rómulo Gallegos (CELARG) and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas, en Venezuela. Also the Museo Monumento Histórico “La Rocca” in Cento, Italy, the Museo Pallazo Estense (italian headquarters of the Museum Hermitage San Petersburg), the Centre D’Art de Puyguerin-Vayolles, Monts sur Guesnes, in France and the Museum of the Americas en Miami, USA.

Technique:

Her work is characterized by the use of vegetal fibers in a way of natural inlay. Fibers from different origins according to the circumstances, from seaweed to agape blue. This fact joint to the themes of her work and to the use of different elements from the nature, gives to her master pieces ecological characteristics. Her work has been also influenced by legends and myths from different ethnic group from Venezuela.

External links:

• “La Venezuela Creativa” Article Publisher by Gentiuno
• “Mari Metallici” Article by the curator Lucia Boni
• “Omaggio a Miro” Article publised by arte.go
• Web page of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia (MACZUL) archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• “Un espacio de Arte para la ciudad” Article Publisher by CELARG
• [http://www.gentiuno.com/articulo.asp?articulo=647

Biografia:

Artista plástico y arquitecto venezolana, nacida en Caracas en 1958. Una de los artistas plásticos más relevantes en la actualidad en Venezuela.

Durante su adolescencia acude como pasante en la Escuela Real de San Fernando en Madrid, España. Se gradúa de Arquitecto en la Universidad Central de Venezuela. Viaja a Egipto y realiza trabajos de investigación acerca de las antiguas técnicas de elaboración de papiros, lo que marcará su producción artística a través de la utilización de fibras vegetales. Sus obras forman parte de las colecciones del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia (MACZUL), en Venezuela, la Galleria D’Arte Moderno Aroldo Bonzagni di Cento, el Museo Quai Branly y el Latin American Art Museum. Ha realizado exposiciones en la Sala de Arte de la Siderurgica del Orinoco, el Museo del Discurso de Angostura, la Fundación Centro de Estudios Latino Americanos Rómulo Gallegos (CELARG) y el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas, en Venezuela. El Museo Monumento Histórico “La Rocca” en Cento, Italia, el Museo Pallazo Estense (sede italiana del Museo Hermitage San Petersburgo), el Centre D’Art de Puyguerin-Vayolles, Monts sur Guesnes, en Francia y el Museum of the Americas en Miami, USA.

Tecnica: Su obra esta caracterizada por el uso de fibra vegetal, tratada a manera de encaje natural. Fibras de diversos origenes según el tema tratado, desde algas marinas hasta ágape azul. Esto, junto con los temas tratados, le confiere a su obra caracteristicas ecologicas junto con el uso de diversos elementos tambien de origen natural, dentro del marco abstraccionista minimalista. Otro elemento que ha influenciado su trabajo son las leyendas y mitos aborígenes de diferentes etnias Venezolanas.

Enlaces externos:

• “La Venezuela Creativa” Articulo publicado en Gentiuno http://www.gentiuno.com/articulo.asp?articulo=647
• “Mari Metallici” Articulo escrito por la curadora Lucia Boni http://www.teknemedia.net/pagine-gialle/artisti/mery_godigna_collet/dettaglio-mostra/21018.html
• “Omaggio a Miro” Articulo publicado por arte.go http://www.arte.go.it/eventi/2008/e_0245.htm
• Pagina del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia (MACZUL) www.maczul.com.ve
• “Un espacio de Arte para la ciudad” Articulo publicado por el CELARG http://www.celarg.org.ve/Ingles/(OCTUBRE)%20VI%20SALON%20DE%20ARTES%20VISUALES%20DYCVENSA%202008.htm

“Mery Godigna Collet… arte hecho con fibra.” Publicaciones MaGo, 2009, Editorial Melvin, Caracas, Venezuela.

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