“Nothing’s happened since Yesterday – Due artisti da Melbourne” is going to open tomorrow at Galleria 291est in Rome and we are super-excited. These days have been pretty busy for exhibiting artists Georgina Lee and Kenny Pittock; I dragged them to gallery and vernissage all over Rome, yesterday we had a talk at the Art Academy (pics soon on this blog) and most importantly they have installed their work in the gallery. On the second day both artists showed up at Galleria 291est sporting “I love Rome” t-shirts. Kenny was so in love with his t-shirt to the point that he refused to change it even for the ultra-posh opening in Villa Medici, the French Academy. That’s the best part of being an artist after all, you can wear whatever the hell you want and no one can tell you anything!
The whole setting-up process has been filmed by Mauro Piccinini of Hour Interview, a great video series that catches snippets of artists’ working day. I’m super curious to see the result! If you are in Rome in these days, come visit us for the opening tomorrow!
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Il 31 maggio inagurerà alla Galleria 291 est a Roma la mostra dei due artisti australiani Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee, con mia curatela. La mostra è parte della mia ricerca sugli artisti emergenti a Melbourne. Beccatevi il comunicato e una galleria di immagini:
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I recently visited the studio of artist Alessandro Cannistrà in San Lorenzo.
It consisted in a white, neat room, pretty bare, except for some books, stucked in an arch in the wall over the door, and a black sofa with some black hats on it.
“This is an original gaucho hat.” he said grabbing a wide-brimmed leather hat on top of the stack “I bought it in Argentina, during my artist residency in Buenos Aires”.
Alessandro has travelled quite a bit lately and he recently relocated in Rome. His work keep on travelling internationally through exhibition and fairs, that’s why his studio was almost empty at the moment.
My attention was attracted by some 3D reconstructions that were pinpointed on the wall.
“Is that what are you working on at the moment?” I asked
Alessandro explained me that he was working on these pyramids for his new solo exhibition at Toselli Gallery, in Milan, curated by Luca Tomìo. The title was “Oggetto di Pensiero”, namely “Object of thinking”, and will open on March 28.
The Italian web magazine Art a Part of Cult(ure) has just published my review of the Katrien de Blauwer’s exhibition “Where will we hide” at Galleria 291 est, Rome.
Here you are the link to the review
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Productivity and Bohemia are concepts which are seldom associated.
You have to admit though that having grown up reading Sartre and Simone the Beauvoir – or at least having seen the pictures – you are not immune to the charms of café.
Every city has is own aesthetic when comes to cafés.
Not everyone is snob enough to live in Paris and go to the Café De Flore – whom has turned into an established place for loaded folks anyways.
What it is left to us is send to hell the Café De Flore, and create our own, well… café mythology.
If you live in Rome you certainly know the cafés Canova and Rosati in Piazza del Popolo.
During the sixties these two cafés gathered the so called “artists from Piazza del Popolo”, but now Canova and Rosati are the equivalent of the ultrachic cafés in Saint Germain, Paris.
Sure, it is always cool to pass by Piazza del Popolo and say hi to the Italian dandy artist Ontani– last time I checked he had a permanent permit to be parked at Canova – yet these cafés are too posh for us.
Same things with the cafés in Via Veneto, once Antonioni, Mastroianni and Fellini’s reign.
You have to consider as well that in Italy there is this tradition of kicking you out if you take too long to sip your coffee.
If you are in Rome and you are a writer looking for a place to read and write quietly, you will be likely accepted in some cosy and shabby-chic looking cafés in Via Giulia, Pigneto or San Lorenzo.
You can start to create your own café mythology from there.
“Ogni foto è un’esperienza.” conclude con accento francese, capello bizzarro, faccia gentile Alain Fleischer.
Prima di questa conclusione c’è ovviamente tutto il lavoro in mostra da Limen OttoNoveCinque, fotografie ad un primo sguardo cariche di mistero e quasi indecifrabili.
Il ciclo fotografico principale “Happy Days”, consiste in grandi stampe dove provare a descrivere il soggetto è già avventurarsi in un sogno surrealista: una cornice per terra, una proiezione di protagoniste femminili da quadri dell’antichità, un giocattolo a motore raddoppiato che sembra agitare la scena.
Gli effetti di sovrapposizione e illusione farebbero pensare ad un banale utilizzo di Photoshop: niente di più sbagliato. A differenza di quanto si possa credere, è solo questione di una grandissima abilità tecnica. Non di meno il processo con cui sono stati presi questi scatti è parte del simbolismo delle opere.
Spiega l’artista che si tratta della creazione di un collegamento del mondo adulto con quello infantile: “Gli adulti attaccano i quadri sempre alle pareti, i bambini giocano per terra. Ecco che proiettando un’immagine dall’alto, emerge questa impalpabile relazione.”
E si ci potrebbe inoltrare ancora più addentro a queste Correspondaces, in un gioco di rimandi infiniti.
« E’ la dimostrazione del potere della fotografia di catturare l’impalpabile ; io non ho mai visto queste immagini, esse esistono solo in quanto sono state fotografate. Questo giocattolo lo vediamo multiplo solo per via dei tempi di esposizione, così come questa proiezione che sembra scivolare fuori dal suo frame. »
Si avverte molta nostalgia in questi scatti, una suggestione malinconica come se l’artista volesse ricomporre il passato attraverso frammenti di luce.
Carpisco brani di discorso di un fruitore dalla fluente chioma rossa vicino a me : « … un ES invisibile che genera un superio etereo…»
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