Players – Louisa Gagliardi’s Edition for MASI Lugano

A limited-edition modular work

Players is the title of the edition created by Louisa Gagliardi for the exhibition Many Moons at MASI Lugano. The work, produced in collaboration with the Museum and Edition VFO in Zurich, is a print on Plexiglass consisting of four combinable elements: puzzle-like pieces that can be assembled to form a scene of card players gathered around a table, but can also be displayed individually or without being interlocked.

The edition is available for purchase at the Museum's bookshop and online by ordering at this address: amministrazione@masilugano.ch

 

 

 

Being printing an integral part of Louisa Gagliardi’s creative process, when creating original multiples the artist favors materials with greater physicality. In Players, she takes advantage of the reflective surface of Plexiglass, reinforcing the interplay between light, materiality, and the illusion of depth. The card players hover between physical presence and digital detachment, giving life to a liminal space where Louisa Gagliardi’s subjects often exist.

The sense of suspension is heightened by the unusual perspective from above; the game is paused, awaiting the next interaction. By presenting a traditional subject from art history – ranging from Cézanne’s The Card Players to Caravaggio’s The Cardsharps – Gagliardi’s interpretation also incorporates references to the cinematic and digital realms. While the artist leaves the interpretation of the scene open to the public, contemporary alienation, digital aesthetics, and social rituals are themes dear to her, and the card game could be understood as a metaphor for social dynamics in which power, deception, and camaraderie intertwine. The fragmented nature of the work further amplifies notions of disconnection and perspective, highlighting how the meaning can change depending on the observer’s point of view.

Cost
Four pieces combo 3.600 CHF
Single piece 940 CHF