Sergio Laterza, the art of a desecrator at the San Basilio Castle

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Irony as a code, skilful rhetoric as a means of expression, communication as a goal and art as a modus vivendi. The conceptual artist Sergio Laterza is all this and much more and the San Basilio di Pisticci Castle is just the most suitable setting for his exhibition Moon Box. Specially created for the ancient manor house which houses a contemporary art collection, the exhibition forms a unique setting with 33 light boxes covering the period from 2014 (year of creation of the first work “Amore Lucano”) to 2023 ( “EVOLVE”). Among the luminous boxes of Laterza, silk-screened ed
illuminated with neon or “LEGGO” LEDs, coming from the permanent collections of MUSMA
– Matera Museum of Contemporary Sculpture. If “BURBERY” winks at the fashion house, the “Psi-Colabile” jeu de mot mimics the well-known drink; and again “HERPES” ​​inspired by the French luxury brand.

The irony of Laterza does not even spare the car brands with the noble Swedish house transformed into “Evolvo”. The graphics of the romantic Baci della Perugia are transformed into the peremptory “TACI”, while the king of Camparisoda aperitifs becomes “COMPARI & SOCI”. Then the Amaro Lucano turns into an “Amore Lucano” while the Barbie doll becomes the sign for the “Babiere”. As for the watches of the famous Rolex brand, here they are transformed into an invitation to “Relax”.

Philosophical concepts

Even philosophical concepts are not spared by the artist who uses the black cat to explain them. If Philosophy for the artist is like “finding oneself in a dark room and looking for a black cat”, Metaphysics is “finding oneself in a dark room and to look for a black cat that isn’t there”, while Theology is “finding yourself in a dark room, looking for a black cat that isn’t there and shouting: I found it!”. Finally, Science is “being in a dark room and looking for a black cat with a flashlight”.

ready made

The more histrionic and creative Laterza moves nimbly between various mediums, from digital art to photography, via ready-mades and light boxes. His provocations question and criticize, point the finger at massification and the easy grip of advertising on a public that is less and less aware of sophistication and by now accustomed to consumerist impositions. When the totally useless becomes absolutely necessary, only the irony of puns can help reveal the deception. This is the message that this desecrating artist seems to offer with the grace of a child and the strength of a Hercules. No iconostasis seems to be able to resist his index: «The idea – he explains – was to devise a fun and curious way to transform an almost sacred and timeless place, i.e. the courtyard of the castle of San Basilio into a post it was consumerist. Borrowing the graphic look of some famous brand logos with combinations that inevitably make you smile». And also a lot to reflect!

Sergio Laterza, Moon Box, San Basilio Castle, Pisticci until 10 September 2023