Victoria De Blassie
De Blassie’s organic cascades fuse ancient food processing wisdom with innovation, challenging more equitable, sustainable markets. The careful process evokes ritualistic, sacred scenes, with materials crafted like a material Torah, prompting reflection on modern practices and engaging all senses, like Penone and Neto’s works.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA) and currently based in Florence, Italy, I received my BFA from the University of New Mexico in 2009 and my MFA at the California College of the Arts in 2011, after which I was awarded a Fulbright grant to Italy as well as a Berlin Fulbright Seminar Travel grant to further my artistic research. I have participated in numerous residencies and international exhibitions, including my most recent solo show “Cascading Citrus” at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. As an artist, I recontextualize discarded and quotidian materials to create art that suggests the excessiveness of material culture as well as change and development over time. Because pieces of contemporary culture—useful within society at a particular moment—decrease in value, it is vital to accentuate the cultural and ecological value of the handmade and creative reuse of materials to demand innovation for social change.
Used material, technique, support:
Tanned orange peels, invisible thread, metal wire for hanging. Tanned oranges peels were made by using ecologically sound processes that don’t hurt the environment to create a new leather made from orange peels. I stitched the peels together using a sewing machine and invis- ible thread.
Artwork Description:
De Blassie made a citrus cascade, to show how cultural and eco- nomic value is constructed and deconstructed over time to comment on notions of sustainability. During the Italian Renaissance cascades were featured design elements and citrus was rare and became a symbol of power and wealth in comparison with its contemporary quotidian role, showing what gets conserved and valorized and what gets discarded depends on perception. DeBlassie uses this process to reconsider the discarded as potential for creating an environmen- tally conscious future. DeBlassie also uses citrus to talk about the ex- cess of contemporary life and the absurdity of having unseasonable food available due to globalization.
