east meets west

EXHIBITION ::: REVIEW
Galleria Stragapede/Perini (Milano) IT
"East West Art"

From 31 May 2007 until the beginning of July, one can find the show "East West Art" in Galleria Stragapede/Perini, conviniently located in Milan's hip Porta Romana neighborhood: the hubub of trendy bars to take appertivi early in the evening. Not surprisingly, this gallery is located in one of these establishments and attracts the attention of the both the fashionable Milanese and art lovers alike. Browsing through the gallery after happy hour is not a bad way to wear off a buzz after one-to-many Cosmos, or to walk off the extra calories consumed at the buffet!

Now, back to the art. "East West Art" is an eclectic collection of works by widely acclaimed international artists. Led by Raz Degan, artists such as Christian Balzano, Pietro Geety Crivelli, Charlotta Janssen, Filippo Sciascia, Federico Tomasi and Wolfgang Widmoser are represented. This project was born in 2003, out of Degan's passion for traveling around the world and to satisfy his curiosity for the diverse cultures of people from all over the world. During the course of his travels throughout the past 4 years, Degan has come across a series of talented, young international artists and as a result, found their own voice (despite the bounds taken on by culture and language barriers) as creative citizens of the world.

This show was beautifully done, and gives one a sense of pride to see how contemporary artists of the present day create their work, what subject matter is more important to them and how they use art as a medium to communicate a profound message to the masses. Subjects such as poverty, racism, animal rights, music, love, sexism, murder and religion are depicted in these works, and the complilation as a whole is asethetically moving... leaving one in awe by the creation in front of them. The creation of a dialogue is also present here: what can we (as Caucasians/Italians) embrace the diversity of these artists from all over the world and incorporate the messages conveyed into our own culture and history? This is an important question to consider, especially as globalization takes place more and more here in Milan.

To further promote the show, there will be a total of 40 events in various Italian cities this year, as well as collaboration of the art with music and videography. See http://www.stragapedeperini.it/galleria.php?mostra=11 for more information and visuals.