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Donated by the Deloitte Foundation to the Municipality of Milan, it is the first work of art on national public land dedicated to a scientist

Milan, June 13 2022 – The sculpture dedicated to Margherita Hack was inaugurated today in Largo Richini in Milan. The project was promoted by the Deloitte Foundation, in collaboration with Casa degli Artisti and with the support of the Municipality of Milan - Art Office in Public Spaces.

The sculpture, made of bronze and 270 cm high, was installed on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of astrophysics and represents the first work of art on public land, in Milan and Italy, dedicated to a woman scientist. The work was donated to the Municipality of Milan by the Deloitte Foundation, which will take care of the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance for the years to come.

The work entitled “Physical Gaze” is by the Bolognese artist Sissi. The bronze sculpture represents Margherita Hack as a metamorphosis: a person born from the elements of a galaxy and committed to studying the stars that form it. Her body is an intense gray colour: she emerges from the magma of life that pulsates within the earth's crust. The gold-colored hands, like the stars set in the galaxy, are raised towards the sky to look through it without instruments. The title "Physical Gaze" plays with his identity as an astrophysicist: the "Gaze" is the sense capable of perceiving luminous stimuli, "Physicist" not only recalls the root of his profession, but also the concreteness and solidity of his intellectual and philosophical attitude.

The work won the ideas competition launched in July 2021, in which eight Italian and international artists participated. It was created between February and May 2022 with and at the Bottega d'arte Ceramica Gatti in Faenza and the De Carli artistic foundry in Turin, with the support of Casa degli Artisti.

The initiative arises from the Deloitte Foundation's commitment to promoting STEM subjects especially among the new generations and from the desire of all parties involved to expand the national and urban artistic heritage by giving visibility and recognition to women who have contributed to history and culture of our society. The choice of Largo Richini in front of the State University of Milan, in a central and highly visible position, intends to leverage the strong symbolic value of the place for the students, who represent the main recipients of the work.

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