INVISIBLE SCULPTURE BY ITALIAN ARTIST SOLD SOLD FOR $18,300 AT AUCTION

Although art is frequently subjective, Salvatore Garau, an Italian artist, genuinely leaves the viewer's interpretation up to them with his invisible sculptures. Io sono ("I am"), his contentious 2021 work, is composed of nothing at all.

"It will concentrate a certain amount and density of thoughts at a precise point when I decide to 'exhibit' an immaterial sculpture in that space," the artist explains, "creating a sculpture that, from my title, will only take the most varied forms."

It makes sense that most people would find it difficult to accept space as a valid piece of art. But the invisible sculpture, which had a starting value of €6,000–9,000 (roughly $6,698–10,044), sold for €15,000 ($18,300) at Art-Rite, an Italian auction house. A set of instructions and an authenticity certificate were given to the buyer. Garau stipulates that the artwork needs to be exhibited in a private residence, in an open, uncluttered area that is roughly five by five feet.

Io sono is about accepting nothingness, according to Garau. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, "the vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, that nothing has a weight," he stated to the Spanish news organisation Diario AS. “Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us.”

Garau has previously displayed visible works. He displayed Buddha in Contemplation in Milan's Piazza Della Scala in February 2021. On the cobblestone path, the only marking for the invisible sculpture was a square of tape. He clarified, "It is composed of spirit and air; you cannot see it, but it exists." "This piece challenges you to use your imagination, which is a power that everyone possesses, even if they don't think they do."

Afrodite Cries, another invisible piece by Garau, was unveiled a week later in front of the New York Stock Exchange. The installation, which was simply denoted by an empty white circle, provoked discussion and forced viewers to reevaluate what constitutes art itself.

Two additional invisible sculptures called LOVE, IMMENSE LOVE were unveiled by Garau in Jerusalem in 2023. A plain white circle marked each location—one on the Temple Mount, the other close to the Western Wall. They are created from "the same material that love itself is made," according to Garau.

Garau challenges his audience to look past the void. He tells us that his LOVE, IMMENSE LOVE works, and that we must view them through the eyes of our hearts. "They are three meters tall, and the shape you are giving them now is the same as your own." "I have created the most beautiful sculptures I could have imagined," he continues.