Nature and Metamorphosis – Press Release
Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center
NATURE AND METAMORPHOSIS
ITALIAN EMERGING CREATIVITY PORTRAYS NATURE
September 29 – November 11, 2006
Beijing Creative Art Center – Millennium Art Monument
November 21 – December 20, 2006
The IGAV, Istituto Garuzzo per le Arti Visive, which aims solely to promote the work of Italian artists of the newest generations in Italy and abroad, organized an exhibition within the framework of the “2006: Year of Italy in China” program, arranged by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the country’s image by highlighting its distinctive qualities.
The exhibition, organized in collaboration with the China International Exhibition Agency, was first hosted in the futuristic Urban Planning Exhibition Center in Shanghai, and later moved to Beijing, at the new Creative Art Center, the youth space of the Millennium Art Monument, located near the Lama Temple.
36 artists, from every region of Italy and carefully selected based on the representativeness of their work, were invited to exhibit two works each on the chosen theme, “Nature and Metamorphosis,” which also pays homage to Chinese painting, traditionally representing nature in all its forms.
The curator, Marisa Vescovo, explained: “The main challenge of this exhibition was to present emerging Italian creativity, not as ‘classical’ consumable art, but as a laboratory of new cultural events for engagement. The unifying theme across the different languages of this exhibition is thus related to the exploration of the various forms of transformation of materials, identity, body, landscape, naturalness and artificiality, associated with the concepts of mutation, hybridization, bioethics—thoughts now capable of supporting a global communication system, which today is interconnected with social transformation.”
In modern art, a multilingual approach capable of using diverse media (video, photography, sculpture, painting) and even humble materials is widespread, generating complex fertilizations that create a new way of understanding human and cultural experience. The iconographic panorama will therefore be highly varied, yet cohesive, intending to present the new geographies of discomfort, the spaces of contemporary ailments, a world of landscapes, bodies, and animals as ever-changing realities.
Rosalba Garuzzo, President of IGAV, the non-profit organization that organized and funded the initiative, stated: “It is difficult for Italian artists to face international stages and ‘compete’ with colleagues from other countries, more developed countries that dedicate significant public and private support to the arts. IGAV’s goal is to help bridge this gap, and this exhibition will contribute to ‘exporting’ ongoing trends in Italy—a country that has historically served as a reference for artistic movements worldwide—to China, where contemporary art is currently receiving great attention.”
The exhibition is supported by a scientific committee composed of Lorenzo Canova, Marco Carminati, Guido Curto, Augusta Monferini, Sandro Parmiggiani, James Putnam,
Vincenzo Sanfo, Claudio Spadoni, and Marisa Vescovo.
The exhibitions are accompanied by live performances by Italian artists.
The Italian Center for Arts and Culture, which has worked closely with the Chinese Ministry of Culture for over ten years, collaborated on the initiative.
• ARTISTS: Matteo Basilè, Bianco & Valente, Paola Binante, Nicola Bolla, Enrica Borghi, Mimmo Borrelli, Botto & Bruno, Gianni Caravaggio, Davide Coltro, Paolo Consorti, Cuoghi e Corsello, Daniela De Lorenzo, Flavio Favelli, Daniele Galliano, Dario Ghibaudo, Paolo Grassino, Paolo Mazzanti, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Marzia Migliora, Margherita Morgantin, Mattia Paganelli, Luca Pancrazzi, Perino & Vele, Paola Pezzi, Sara Rossi, Marco Nereo Rotelli, Sandro Sanna, Francesco Sena, Saverio Todaro, Sabrina Torelli, Luisa Valentini, Fabio Viale, Cesare Viel, Italo Zuffi
• PERFORMANCES: Lara Favaretto, Barbara Uccelli
• CURATOR: Marisa Vescovo
• SPONSORS: Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Borsalino, GHE – Happich Ellamp, Sopaf,
Toro Assicurazioni, Peyrani National & International Movers
• CONCEPTION AND EXECUTION: Istituto Garuzzo per le Arti Visive, IGAV – 10123 Torino –
Tel. 011-8129611 – www.igav-art.org – Executive Director: Silvia
Corcione, Executive Curator: Alessandro Carrer, Italy Organizing Secretariat: Alessandra
Lombardi, China Organizing Secretariat: Irene Jin
• WEBSITE: www.naturaemetamorfosi.org
For information:
Press Office, Italian Center for Arts and Culture
Marilina Di Cataldo
or: Secretariat, Italian Center for Arts and Culture
Press Office in China
M.me Xiao Ge – Paris
– Beijing –