Hello Helene,

The last time we met and had that nice coffee at the Biffy Bar in Milan, we talked about the idea of an exhibition, so I just wanted to let you know what I’ve been doing before you leave for your summer holiday.

Several months ago I began a new body of work based on my looking at and thinking about both Piero Manzoni, and the un-cast, wax works of Medardo Rosso. Manzoni interests me because his works seem like they were made by somebody who wasn’t thinking about making art, but was just making stuff that was important for him to make, and the wax works of Medardo Rosso interest me because of their fragility and immediacy.

…The new pieces are small scale, painted sculptures. They are made of solid wax with no interior support. The wax is cast in three or four stages. After each layer dries, the top exposed surface is painted with white oil paint and allowed to dry before the next layer is poured… At this point in their development, the exterior painted portion needs to be only a particular blue; not “Klein Blue”, but more like the blues found in Giotto or Piero della Francesca, and other early painters. That may change, but at the moment it seems to be what they need…

In any case… I hope you are well.
I hope you have a great summer.
And I look forward to seeing you one of these days.
All the best, as always,

Stuart

Letter from Stuart Arends to Hélène de Franchis, 2010