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Altri echi

Antonio Catelani 
Filippo Cristini
Dina Danish
Martinelli Venezia
Michele Spanghero
Marianne Vierø

exhibition views at Artopia Gallery, Milan
17th June 2021 - 24th September 2021  ​​

 

 
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"Altri echi" quotes the lines of the poem "Burnt Norton", included in T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (1943), where the theme of time as eternally present is central as both the past and the future converge in it. The garden, to which the author refers, as the space hosting the show, bears the signs of human presence and neglect, but it is at the same time a poetic place, in which references to childhood and beyond emerge.

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Starting from this reflection on the continuity of time and on the idea of passage as a generative moment of new forms, the artworks on show emphasize an intrinsic dynamism and a transformative process in progress. The result is a fluid exhibition itinerary that immerses the viewer in an embracing situation. At the center of the space, the UNSERIAL.bulbs (2021) installation by Martinelli Venezia consists of a series of lamps of new production. These light sculptures are based on the transformation of an extremely standardized mass product, the light bulb, into a unique handcrafted product, the result of experimenting with different blown shapes, satin or striped, and then welded together in compositions with an asymmetrical balance. The Abwesenheiten in Preuβisch Blau (Assenza in Blu di Prussia) (2021) by Antonio Catelani is characterized by a constant chromatic transformation. The Prussian blue oil used is a highly unstable color that, under the action of sunlight and in contact with the canvas preparation, oxidizes and takes on color variations in a natural way. Alongside, his ceramic hands entitled stiff (2019), seem to cling to the wall like dynamic organisms, intentionally forcing the boundaries between drawing and plastic volume through a process of transposition and "materialization" of a two-dimensional plane. Michele Spanghero in the video Monologue (2016) gives voice to the empty Gran Teatro La Fenice recording its silence through a process of sound stratification. The initial silence and darkness are followed by the gradual emergence of sound and light, while the artist in the backlight on stage listens to the theatre. Filippo Cristini’s large paintings entitled Fitzcarraldo (2020), an explicit reference to the 1982 film by Werner Herzog, reflect on the theme of the will to power by intertwining in a natural continuum with the branches that dominate the upper part of the space. Then, the projection Here / There (2011) by Dina Danish brings into play the viewer firsthand to modify the structure of the word by interposing himself between the projector and the wall. The exhibition itinerary concludes with Marianne Vierø’s collages Dot, Dot, Dot – in Lieu of Regularity (2021) which works on the repetition of sequences of stickers on stationery paper. The original shape-color combination is modified through different types of alignments, leading to the creation of new irregular patterns. The harmonious dialogue among design, painting, sculpture, and installation interacts with the container of sui generis nature which, embodying the signs of time, becomes an integral part of the project. The sensation of a state of passage from a before to an after, only apparently distinct in the immense flow of time, seems to remain constant.

photos

Photos by Lucrezia Costa

artist

Antonio Catelani

Antonio Catelani (Florence, 1962) lives and works in Milan. He attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and the Stipendium der Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions in galleries and public institutions in Italy and abroad: Museo Novecento, Florence (2018-2014), Rita Urso artopiagallery, Milan (2016), Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome (2016-2001-1995), Kunstverein aller/Art, Bludenz (A) (2013-2001), Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis, Bregenz (2013-2005-1997), Polo Museale/Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence (2012), Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2012), Museo Pecci, Prato (2012-2002-2000-1998-1991), Quadriennale d'Arte di Roma (2008-1996), MoCA, Shanghai, China (2006), Museo Marino Marini, Florence (2006), Museo MAN, Nuoro (2005), Palazzo Fabroni Arti Visive, Pistoia (2004-2002-2001), 10th Sculpture Biennial, Carrara (2000), PAC, Milan (1998-1989-1986), Museo Archeologico, Florence (1994), Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea, Trento (1993), Berlinische Galerie/Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin (1992), Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna (1991), Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel (1991), Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (1989), Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (1989), Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna (1989-1988), 43rd Venice Biennale (1988).

Filippo Cristini

Filippo Cristini (Como, 1989) lives and works in Milan. He graduated in philosophy and attended the biennial painting course at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. His solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad include: Dimora Artica, Milan (2020), Current Project, Milan (2019), Museo G. Fattori, Livorno (2019), Walkin Studio, Milan (2019), Museo di Arte Contemporanea, Togliatti - RU (2018), Museo della Permanente, Milan (2018), Villa Vertua Masolo, Nova Milanese (2018), Triennale di Milano, Milan (2017).

Dina Danish

Dina Danish (Paris, 1981) is a French-Egyptian artist. She has participated in artist residencies including the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Spinola Banna in Italy, PiST// in Istanbul, A.i.R. Dubai and the American Academy in Rome. Among the venues of solo and group exhibitions in which she has participated: Barbara Seiler, Zurich (2020-2013-2011), Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam (2020-2018-2016), Rita Urso artopiagallery, Milan (2020), Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna (2020), Martin van Zomeren (2018-2017), Kunsthall Oslo (2017), Stedelijk Museum Schiedam (2015), Nile Sunset Annex, Cairo (2015), Pool Projects, Zurich (2015), Projects Arts Centre, Dublin (2014), South London Gallery (2014), de Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam (2013), SFMOMA, San Francisco (2010). She has been nominated for several awards: Dutch Volkskrant Award, Prix de Rome in the Netherlands, Abraaj Art Prize in the United Arab Emirates; she received the Illy Present Future Award at Artissima 18, the Celeste Award and the Barclay Simpson Award in San Francisco.

Martinelli Venezia

Martinelli Venezia is a design studio based in Milan and Palermo, founded in 2015 by architects Carolina Martinelli (Milan, 1983) and Vittorio Venezia (Palermo, 1980). Their work has been hosted in galleries and museums in Italy and abroad: the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the MAXXI in Rome and the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. They collaborate with several Italian and international brands. Among the exhibitions in Italy and abroad: 'Frontiere - expressões de design contemporâneo' for Porto Design Biennale, Casa do Design Matosinhos, Porto (2019), 'Officine Calderai' for Manifesta 12, Palermo (2018), 'Designers select designers' at The Aram Gallery, London (2018). They have received several awards including: Honourable Mention The Copper and the House (2019), 1st Design Competition Creativity Award (2016), 1st Design Report Award (2015), Prime Cup, Triennale di Milano (2007).

Michele Spanghero

Michele Spanghero (Gorizia, 1979) is a visual and sound artist. His work ranges from the field of sound art, sculpture and photographic research in a versatile, yet coherent way so much so that he received the nomination of "Best young Italian artist 2016" by Artribune magazine. He has exhibited and performed in various international contexts such as Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, Le Centquatre, Paris, Hyundaii Motorstudio, Beijing, School of the Art Institute, Chicago, Darb 1718 Center, Cairo, Egypt, Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Ars Electronica festival, Linz, Technisches Sammlungen, Dresden, Italian Embassy, Brussels, Festival Tina-B, Prague, Vžigalica Galerija, Ljubljana. Exhibition venues in Italy include Mart, Rovereto, Palazzo Te, Mantova, Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia, Galleria Civica, Modena, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Tempio di Adriano, Rome, 16th Quadriennale d'arte, Rome. He has exhibited in various solo and group shows at the Galleria Mario Mazzoli (Modena, Berlin) and the Galleria Alberta Pane (Venice, Paris) by which he is represented.

Marianne Vierø

Marianne Vierø (Copenhagen, 1979) has been artist in residence at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, the Triangle Arts Association in NYC and Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. Her recent solo exhibitions include: 'Figure Bold' at Rita Urso artopiagallery, Milan (2019), 'Coat Concave' at die Raum, Berlin (2017), 'Glyph' at 427, Riga (2015), 'Great Transformantion' (2014) and 'Dunk' (2017) at Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam, followed by participation in LISTE Basel. She has participated in group exhibitions at: Sundy, London (2019), Nida Art Colony, Nida (2019), Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (2018), Helper, Brooklyn, New York (2017), Future Gallery, Berlin (2016), De Vleeshal, Middelburg (2015), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oslo (2015) and 1857, Oslo (2010).

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