The room (1972) cm 53×73 – Tempera acrilica sottovetro

Dady Orsi’s visceral relationship with his favourites emerges strongly in this under-glass painting, lovingly preserved even after the breakup. The painting is populated by objects he himself collected (the Selvanera clock, the antique doll, the vases) and by symbolic elements of his imagination, among which the owl, the shell and the large sunflower are unfailingly visible. Like many other Rooms inspired by Velazquez, the painting is a representation of his own home as a Wunderkammer, where all the objects are recognizable but transfigured in a metaphysical and surreal key. In a displacement, the painting breaks into five large pieces. Orsi doesn’t want to destroy it or give it back its original appearance. So, he contacts an old Milanese craftsman known for his skill in restoring vintage stained-glass windows and plates. By choosing to restore the work in a creative way, Orsi enhances its wounds. In fact, the pieces of glass are not glued together, but are reconnected by means of lead strips for stained glass soldered with tin. This intervention testifies to the unbroken tradition of glassmaking techniques, learned in his youth thanks to the teaching of masters such as Pietro Chiesa, Aldo Carpi and Erwin Walter Burger.