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In my current research, I am exploring concepts of relationships, desire, and the transience of male-dominated work environments, primarily in the logistics industry. As a queer person, who grew up in a rural environment, I have always pondered the disproportionate recognition of different types of work based on social class and context. As a sculptor, I engage with these themes and their related contradictions.
Villiam Miklos Andersen (Kalundborg, Denmark, 1995) graduated from the Hochschule für Bildende Künste - Städelschule in Frankfurt in 2021 in the class of Judith Hopf and from the Jutland Art Academy in Aarhus in 2020. His artistic practice is influenced by an interest in logistics and the working modalities of post-industrial society, particularly how personal and private spheres are intertwined and informed by systems dictated by economic logic. His work depicts real experiences within vast networks of systems and practices devoted to efficiency. In his recent works, the artist reflects on work contexts marked by male prevalence and proposes a queer perspective that explores the potential for sensitivity, romanticism, and care. He won the G+G Art Award Nord (DE, 2023), the Aros Art Prize (DK, 2020), and was selected for the Ars Viva Art Prize (DE, 2022). Recent exhibitions include: Area of common interests at 1Shanthiroad, Bangalore (IN, 2024); November Simulacra, Beijing (CN, 2023); The Pawn Shop at documenta fifteen, Kassel (DE, 2022); Proof that this is a home at Frankfurter Kunstverein (DE, 2022); Going Nowhere at Spoiler Zone, Berlin (DE, 2021); Umsteigemöglichkeit at Kunsthal Aarhus (DK, 2020). His work is part of institutional collections such as those of the X Museum in Beijing and the Herbert Gerisch-Stiftung in Neumünster, Germany. In November 2024, he will open his first major solo exhibition at O—Overgaden in Copenhagen.
Situated on a hilltop in the Crete Senesi hills, Serre di Rapolano is a charming walled medieval village that is part of the municipality of Rapolano Terme.
Founded as a castle in Byzantine times, the village was a feud of the Cacciaconti family and later became a rural municipality under the rule of Siena. During the Sienese domination, the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala was authorised to use part of the ancient imperial palace, built at the time of Barbarossa, as a fortified warehouse, which gave rise to the term “Grancia” (grange). The building, now a museum, is one of the most important palazzi in the village, and it is part of the Fondazione Musei Senesi group of museums. Equally important are the Gori Martini palazzo, the neoclassical Teatrino, one of the smallest in the world, dating back to the early 17th century, and the church of Sant'Andreino, a Romanesque construction located in a scenic area.
The surrounding landscape is notable for its quarries for travertine marble, which has always been used for buildings in the village and further afield, and which is still pivotally important for the area's activities.
In May, the village comes alive with the medieval re-enactment in honour of “Ciambragina,” the beautiful bride of a rich Sienese merchant in the 14th century, originally from Cambrai, who lived in Serre as mistress of the castle. During this celebration, the alleys are filled with jesters, musicians and dancers who, together with the villagers, recreate a snapshot of medieval life.