Painting the Stage. Limited Edition (with Jan Fabre)

The work comprises an exclusive print, numbered and signed by Jan Fabre, created specifically for this publication; a sculpture designed and signed by the ‘starchitect’ Mario Botta, crafted from fine woods (ash, oak and walnut) and produced by Riva 1920; a finely bound copy of Painting the Stage, discreetly housed within the structure, in a dialogue between editorial research and artistic creation. Created in connection with the 2004 production of Tannhäuser, this work by Jan Fabre reflects the artist’s ongoing exploration of the dualities of human nature: the tension between spiritual aspiration and physical desire that runs through Wagner’s drama. The print, produced by the master Parisian printer Michael Woolworth, faithfully captures the richness of Fabre’s original drawing, preserving the delicacy of the watercolour washes and the precision of the pencil lines. For Fabre, preparatory drawings for the theatre are not mere studies, but “a chamber of thought in which I isolate myself to create my new universe”: intimate spaces of invention from which his total works take shape.