Shelagh WAKELY British, 1932-2011
Palazzo Ruini is a beautiful but rather broken down palazzo in the centre of Regio Emilia. It is now an art gallery. It has five adjoining rooms, each with the remains of richly decorated ceilings and tiled floors. Five artists showed work here each in a separate room.
An area of geometric patterned tiling framed by a white border formed a central rectangle on this irregular shaped floor. This was exactly covered by Scarlet Silk: bright red silk slit into swirling organic patterns. The black, terracotta and white tiles were just visible through the light weight silk which lay in irregular folds sometimes gently shifting in the wind. The walls and ceiling of the room blushed pink, reflecting the scarlet.
Location: Palazzo Ruini, Reggio Emilia, Italy