The exhibition Le Presenze is held from 21 november to 30 december 1974 at Galleria dei Bibliofili in Milan.
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«Perhaps her long experience scrutinizzing the souls
of others in search of their hidden aspirations, perhaps a deepening of her own sense of being, laid the foundations which have given life to this series of presences, these precious gold tablets, etched and anamelled by hand – which lie somewhere between a jewel and an icon, a heraldic crest and a mask, the mystery of a fortune teller’s cards and a traffic symbol – that Germana Marucelli has recently created… the strokes, the colors, the forms of these small figures spring from a precise unitarian plan: they are autochthonous products, derived from Germana’s long meditation on herself and others. These others are women – that for so many years she has assisted
in «expressing themselves»… And Germana, giving life
to her creations has kept this obligation foremost:
to give form where it is lacking, to lend identity to those who lack it or who are unable, alone, to express it.
Here, instead, Germana has finally thought of herself,
even while the intention was to create for others.
Or else, she has wished or somehow been able to project through these figures, without facial features, her own personality… A cryptic apology, where the shimmer of the gold plates, the brilliance of the enamel and the colors, hides something more than a simple ornamental. It hides several of the most precious qualities of Germana Marucelli: her vitality,
her fantasy, her faith in communication with her
fellow men, her ability to offer to all comers that
frame of fantasy which, satisfying them, rebounds
and satisfies and fulfills herself».
Gillo Dorfles, “Le Presenze”, 1974
«Perhaps her long experience scrutinizzing the souls of others in search of their hidden aspirations, perhaps a deepening of her own sense of being, laid the foundations which have given life to this series of presences, these precious gold tablets, etched and anamelled by hand – which lie somewhere between a jewel and an icon, a heraldic crest and a mask, the mystery of a fortune teller’s cards and a traffic symbol – that Germana Marucelli has recently created… the strokes, the colors, the forms of these small figures spring from a precise unitarian plan: they are autochthonous products, derived from Germana’s long meditation on herself and others. These others are women – that for so many years she has assisted in «expressing themselves»… And Germana, giving life to her creations has kept this obligation foremost: to give form where it is lacking, to lend identity to those who lack it or who are unable, alone, to express it.
Here, instead, Germana has finally thought of herself, even while the intention was to create for others. Or else, she has wished or somehow been able to project through these figures, without facial features, her own personality… A cryptic apology, where the shimmer of the gold plates, the brilliance of the enamel and the colors, hides something more than a simple ornamental. It hides several of the most precious qualities of Germana Marucelli: her vitality, her fantasy, her faith in communication with her fellow men, her ability to offer to all comers that frame of fantasy which, satisfying them, rebounds and satisfies and fulfills herself».
Gillo Dorfles, “Le Presenze”, 1974