AURORA PASSERO
ARTIST STATEMENT
Aurora Passero’s works in woven and dyed nylon can be experienced as monumental installations in the field between sculpture and painting. Building on a broad interest in different cultural expressions such as popular and underground culture, handcraft, ethnology and art history, Passero creates spatial compositions where she explores opposing states between material, space, form and content.
“I like to think of weaving as a larger, more complex metaphor that can be about time, repetition, touch, and experience. Weaving provides a limited, focused period – from start to a finished result. It is a meditative state where I digest thoughts around what I create. At the same time, I physically experience how the woven material can behave by manipulating the methods I use in different ways. In this way, weaving is a central process for my practice, and a method that is indispensable for the result.”
BIO
Aurora Passero (1984)
Aurora Passero is an Italian - Norwegian artist who lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and at the Oslo Academy of Art where she graduated in 2011.
Selected solo exhibitions include Woven Signals, Galleri Haaken; Solid Blossom, TSSK; Crystal Set, Galleri Haaken; Silvery Actions, Vigelandmuseet; Affections, Kunstnernes Hus.
Selected group exhibitions include “Sensory Response”, Formation Gallery, Chopenhagen; The Drawing Triennal, Oslo; “Ode to a Dish Rag”, Hymne to a Tiger, Kunsthall Stavanger; “NNA-NNA-NNA”, Stavanger Kunstmuseum and Astrup Fearnley Museet; Europe, Europe, Astrup Fearnley Museet; Tusen Tråder, Lillehammer Kunstmuseum; Norwegian Sculpture Biennial, Vigelandmuseet; 24 Spaces/1857, Malmö Konsthall; I Tråd Med Tiden, Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum and Glasgow International.
She has completed several public art commissions, including Jotun HQ, Sandefjord (2022), Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm (2020), The Norwegian Parliament, Oslo (2019) and The Norwegian Embassy in Rome (2012).
Thistle
Hand woven, hand dyed nylon
Dimensions varies
2023
Passero is known for her woven monumental textile works, establishing
distinct dynamic installations at the intersection of painting, and sculpture.
Drawing inspiration from a range of cultural forms, including popular and
underground culture, craftsmanship, ethnology, and art history, Passero
constructs spatial compositions within an abstract visual language. Through
the exploration of compositional contrasts and balances between materials,
colors, space, form, and content, Passero invites us to perceive and
reconsider the hierarchy between different artistic genres.
The work Thistle possess a distinct physical presence with architectural
qualities, vibrant assertive colors, and tactile, sensory appearances.
Sculptural considerations such as size, form, negative space, distance, and
rhythm become important. The work possess a bodily presence, displaying
distinct tactile and organic forms, and are suspended from the ceiling using
simple ropes as a linesr vontradt to the organic, folded fabric.
Associations such as protective armor, snakeskin, or a form of barrier
between a vulnerable interior and a hard exterior can arise from these
encounters. The texture and metallic color palette further emphasize
connections to protection or armor, even though nylon cannot offer the same
insulation as materials like leather or wool.
Passero has experimented with the texture of these works by allowing the
textiles to soak in large vessels of hot water, causing the threads to condense
and separate upon contact. These condensations and gaps create a new
interplay of texture and surface, further enhanced by occasional daylight
reflections that highlight the shimmering qualities of the material
Passero explores elements of transformation, dynamics, and change in her
artwork, establishing a relationship with the viewer and a sensory experience. Her
works embody a finely tuned presence that balances nature and culture,
chance and structure, creating a tension between solidity and fragility.