Concrete Archive

The title of this book and exhibition, Concrete Archive, describes a resistance to the ephemeral character of the present and reinforces the idea of the durability of our past. The image of a cement archive highlights the importance of archiving, documenting and the recording humanity's actions, whilst exemplifying Stefano Canto's interest in an architectural approach to life. In this case, 'concrete' offers a figurative counterpoint to our current conception of time as a fluid, intangible dimension, in constant motion. Behind Canto's formation as an architect a marked interest in the concept of mutation can be found. Canto is intrigued by the relationship between artifice and nature, particularly in reference to man's intervention on the landscape. In Canto's research, space is perceived as a grid, an outfit of geometric shapes that intertwine and stratify. His approach is analytic, decomposing the landscape in sets, levels and components. Space is therefore transformed into a three-dimensional network, composed of blocks, shapes and modules which, when put together, restore a vision of the total environment to the viewer.