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For much of the twentieth century contemporary art has been displayed in the aseptic white space of museums, or in the commercial context of the art gallery. A new generation of curators in Milan led by Luisa Castellini and Ronald Lewis Facchinetti are working hard to change that. Through IterArs, an online reservation platform they created, they promote art exhibits and studio crawls at selected artist studios throughout Milano.
“We are first and foremost interested in guaranteeing a powerful aesthetic experience to our visitors” says Ronald Lewis Facchinetti. Each IterArs artist dedicates some studio space to an exhibition of his works in the studio. “It is a very exciting time for contemporary art” adds Luisa Castellini, “we are bringing curatorial practices of contemporary art to the very place in which it is produced”. Each studio exhibit is private and a time slot must be reserved. “Art requires intimacy” says Ronald, “our online reservation platform makes it very easy and efficient to book studio appointments”.
April’s IterArs studio exhibits in Milano include “La Linea Rossa” at Fabio Giampietro’s atelier (see below, number 2). His paintings of a dense, dark Milan are contrasted to Alan Maglio’s photographs of some of its immigrants. Not to be missed is Mark Kalinka’s studio and his “Le Parole Sono Importanti” (see below, number 5), a body of work in which images of famous authors emerge from thick, layered text. In his downtown atelier, Giovanni Manzoni presents “Un Viaggio Lungo un Disegno” (see below, number 4): a collection of drawings dedicated to famous travelers from Marco Polo to Jules Verne. In his studio, Giacomo Spazio presents “Favorite Things” (see below, number 3): new paintings from the artist inserted into a collective of works he selected from the pop, underground and punk art scenes in Milan. Finally, Daniela Novello presents “Il Giorno Imperfetto” in her studio (see below, number 1). A series of installations regarding Aldo Moro’s kidnapping: one of Italy’s darkest hours.
1. Daniela Novello: Il giorno Imperfetto
Her musing on the political implications of Aldo Moro’s kidnapping and murder in 1978 takes the shape of lead sculptures. Lead, as the “Years of Lead” and turmoil which gripped Italy between the 1960s and the 1980s. We encounter the leaden flag of the Red Brigades. A plumbean reconstruction of the car seats upon which Moro’s dead body was found. A dramatic page of Italy’s history, salvaged from the collective imagination and transferred onto solid matter. Daniela Novello shares her Atelier with her sister, Patrizia Novello, an established artist in a large space in the Bovisa area.
M3 (yellow line) Dergano
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2. Fabio Giampietro & Alan Maglio: La Linea Rossa
Searing streetscapes. Cement constructions. Metropolitan moods captured by Fabio Giampietro as they intersect the gaze of Alan Maglio’s subjects. As worry lines meet urban patterns, they merge in a symbolic “Red Line”. This, the name of the show, points to a connection between Giampietro’s monochrome streets and the values embodied in Maglio’s portraits, somehow leading in the direction of change, and multicultural vistas beyond. Fabio Giampietro and Alan Maglio share a large studio in northern Milan.
M5 (purple line) Istria
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3. Giacomo Spazio: My Favorite Things
An “other-where” of the imagination, where vinyl covers from the 1970s collide with Disney cartoons, magazines, photographs, fanzines. Giacomo Spazio’s work is like a punk attack on pop. Creations by a multitude of friends surround this oeuvre: Guido Borso and Martina Merlini, Eliot and Elvezio Ghidoli, BR1’s take on immigration and the tribal echoes of SLMSTR (“Solomostri”). Giacomo Spazio created his studio by resurrecting a small shop and transforming it into a cozy exhibit/work space.
M1 (red line) Turro
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4. Giovanni Manzoni: Un viaggio Lungo un Disegno
Travel is the topic of this exhibit of drawings large and small. Works are inspired by the chronicles of Marco Polo, Nikola Tesla’s enquires into the mysteries of the electromagnetic field, the introspective exploring of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the fantastical adventures of Jules Verne: human knowledge and conscience through the centuries. Manzoni works and exhibits in a delightful studio in the heart of Milan, nestled among the Liberty villas of Porta Venezia, the decorations of Casa Galimberti and the wrought-iron balconies of Casa Guazzoni.
M1 (red line) Porta Venezia
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5. Marc Kalinka: Le Parole Sono Importanti
Kalinka’s latest project revolves around words. Literary, dramatic, the words which make a biography, or an entire live . The religious Word. The Word as a promise or engagement. The spoken word and words un-spoken, maybe unspeakable. On display in the “white cube” area of his interesting atelier are large images of the literary authors, from Dostoevsky to Heinrich Böll, which emerge from a cloud of their tiny, dense and textured words.
M5 (purple line) Monumentale
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