Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-ongoing
Live performance with physicists from Universidad Complutense
and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at ARCOmadrid 2019
Photo by Leonardo Morfini
Courtesy the artist and The RYDER Projects

The Subtleties of Elevated Things

The Subtleties of Elevated Things is a live performance—an ongoing special project that takes place at several international venues, produced in collaboration with physicists from local universities. Andrea Galvani invites a group of PhD students to calculate complex astrophysical phenomena on-site. Writing directly on the walls, they progressively transform architectural space into a living laboratory open to the public. The Subtleties of Elevated Things reveals the human effort behind the numbers: the raw process of computation and analysis, normally invisible to us, becomes the center of the action.

Within these calculations, there is a Universe. They trace time, preserving the work of the past, orienting our knowledge in the present, and pointing towards the future. They allow the magical richness of scientific theories to unfold, opening new languages and touching the nature of the phenomena they express. Behind each calculation is a constellation, thousands of steps in ongoing processes of scientific inquiry, mathematically mapping the meandering paths of relentless minds that sometimes triumph and often fail. 

Andrea Galvani © La sottigliezza delle cose elevate, 2020
Live 4-month performance with researchers from Universitá Sapienza di Roma, CERN, and Virgo data analysis group
white acrylic pen on gray wall, architectural elements, customized trigonometric instruments. Dimensions variable with architecture
Exhibition view at Mattatoio Roma / MACRO Testaccio
Photo by Monkeys Video Lab
Courtesy the artist and Mattatoio

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-ongoing
Live performance with physicists from Universidad Complutense
and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at ARCOmadrid 2019
Photo by Leonardo Morfini
Courtesy the artist and The RYDER Projects

Andrea Galvani © La sottigliezza delle cose elevate, 2020
Live 4-month performance with researchers from Universitá Sapienza di Roma, CERN, and Virgo data analysis group
white acrylic pen on gray wall, architectural elements, customized trigonometric instruments. Dimensions variable with architecture
Partial exhibition view at Mattatoio Roma / MACRO Testaccio
Photo by Monkeys Video Lab
Courtesy the artist and Mattatoio

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019
Live performance with physicists from Universidad Complutense
and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at ARCOmadrid 2019
Photo by Leonardo Morfini
Courtesy the artist and The RYDER Projects

Andrea Galvani © La sottigliezza delle cose elevate, 2020
Live 4-month performance with researchers from Universitá Sapienza di Roma, CERN, and Virgo data analysis group
white acrylic pen on gray wall, architectural elements, customized trigonometric instruments. Dimensions variable with architecture
Partial exhibition view at Mattatoio Roma / MACRO Testaccio
Photo by Monkeys Video Lab
Courtesy the artist and Mattatoio

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-ongoing
Live performance with physicists from Universidad Complutense
and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at ARCOmadrid 2019
Photo by Leonardo Morfini
Courtesy the artist and The RYDER Projects

Andrea Galvani © La sottigliezza delle cose elevate, 2020
Live 4-month performance with researchers from Universitá Sapienza di Roma, CERN, and Virgo data analysis group
white acrylic pen on gray wall, architectural elements, customized trigonometric instruments. Dimensions variable with architecture
Partial exhibition view at Mattatoio Roma / MACRO Testaccio
Photo by Monkeys Video Lab
Courtesy the artist and Mattatoio

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-ongoing
Live performance with physicists from École polytechnique fédérale
de Lausanne, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at Fabienne Levy, Lausanne
Photo by Julien Gremaud
Courtesy the artist and Fabienne Levy

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-onging
Live performance with physicists from École polytechnique fédérale
de Lausanne, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation and performance view at Fabienne Levy, Lausanne
Photo by Julien Gremaud
Courtesy the artist and Fabienne Levy

Andrea Galvani © The Subtleties of Elevated Things, 2019-ongoing
Live performance with physicists from École polytechnique fédérale
de Lausanne, white acrylic pen on gray wall
Dimensions variable with architecture
Installation view at Fabienne Levy, Lausanne
Photo by Julien Gremaud
Courtesy the artist and Fabienne Levy