WE <3 JOYS

Exhibition Review :: Milano (IT)
Allegra Ravizza :: ART PROJECT
JOYS; Personale




On virtually every other building in Milan, there is some sort of graffiti scrawled on it - some well-scripted and visually appealing; others, not so much. Some consider it an art form while others call it an act of vandalism. Many argue that its the only way to keep a culture alive, to communicate important messages to the masses. Graffiti may be unconventional and unsolicited, but it does not disqualify it from being a kind of art, a kind of expression. Graffiti in every major citiy of the world is similiar, yet also different; each culture develops its own creativity and skills.


I first came across Allegra Ravizza Art Project during the opening night of their exhibition, entitled JOYS (the pen name of artist Cristian Bovo, Padova, 1974), on 24 May 2007. Due to the amount of people and the delicious bellinis served that night, it wasn't until weeks later that I went back to get a closer look at the art of this JOYS fellow.


My first reaction to the work of JOYS was how different his work was from the works I've seen at other gallery openings of the same genre (meaning, Contemporary Art). It was so refreshing to stand before art that thinks outside the box. To me, this man has taken (Italian) penmanship to the next level, where the forms remain attached together yet one is still able to make out what these letters are supposed to represent. His sculpture represents an eclectic but cool three-dimensional approach to graffiti, better known as "art on the wall" (in the case of this exhibition, since it is mounted on the walls). Bold colors of red, yellow, blue and purple grabbed my attention. These sculptures were far beyond what the human mind could comprehend, and although I did not immediately identify the works as "script", I did feel that they could jump off the wall at any given time. I felt that his works have overcome the confines of two-dimensional space and because each letter was so precise, geometrical and so perfect, knew that he must have been influenced by mathematics and probably the works of M.C. Escher.


I can see JOYS' sculptures being used as a means of not only communicating the need to be creative and the survival of a culture, but profound words and phrases with the ability to spread a message across, be it something political, cultural, social or religious. Art that has a purpose, which also has a presence, is much needed in our seemingly nihilistic urban environments.

Colorful pipes, anyone?

Arte Italiana @t its Finest

On Thursday, 13 July 2007, approximately 500+ people raced through the doors of Milan’s Palazzo Reale for the opening of its latest exhibition: Arte Italiana, 1968-2007. On display until mid-November, these paintings, under the ideas of Vittorio Sgarbi and curated by Maurizio Sciaccaluga, re-unites la crème de la crème of what modern/contemporary Italian painting has been known to express in the last half of this century, from 1968 until the more recent experiences.


Some artists represented in this exhibition were the following: Domenico Gnoll, Renato Guttuso, Piero Guccione, Valerio Adami, Gianfranco Ferroni, as well as artists who are not so well-known, such as Adelchi Mantovani, Gustavo Foppiani, Lorenzo Tornabuoni and Giancarlo Vitali. Cultural and aesthetic watersheds are not only political, as 1968 represents the symbol of the landslide of ideologies. It also represents unanimated ideas shared between the beauty found in art and the outpouring of the spirit expressed to the viewers. There was also a side exhibition of Italian architect mastermind Gio Ponti, who designed a myriad of stylish yet functional furniture and urban buildings. Many of his works still stand in Milan today.


Since I did not possess an invitation (and I couldn’t jump in line with somebody else since everyone came as a couple), I had to wait over two hours to see this exhibition. It was a madhouse, to say the least. Everyone was pushing and shoving, cutting in line and yelling just to have first dibs on viewing the exhibition. The three security guards, 2 at the door, one responsible for checking everyone’s invitation (and yes, there were a few frauds!) kept saying: “Piano, piano, piano”, urging everyone to slow down and stop the madness!

Once inside, there was no direct flow, which made it hard for people to make their way around to these exhibits. It was obvious that the Italian Paintings galleries were arranged chronologically while Gio Ponti’s exhibition was arranged by medium (furniture, decorative items, photographic collages/newspaper clippings/press releases/letters, etc.). There were only short paragraphs on the wall, describing the time period and influences of these painters, as well as photographs of Gio Ponti’s architectural successes from all over the world.

Being that this opening took place in one of the greatest fashion centers of the world, it was also interesting to note the kind of people that attended this event and what they wore. The majority of the populations were, of course, middle-aged Caucasian Italians who were extremely well-dressed (as if they were going to the opera or a fancy dinner) in the season’s latest fashions. The ballpark average age was older, probably around 40. A few families came with their children, and judging from the fact that most of these kids had their own cell phone, plus name brand clothing, indicated that this “leisure” event was definitely for the upper-middle class and beyond. A few exceptions included a small group of university art students and young professionals – also mostly Caucasian Italians, sporting the latest trends. As a result of their high status in society and level of education, there were many interesting and in depth conversations going on regarding art criticism and theory as well. Needless to say, Europeans are TONS more educated about the arts than Americans ever will be.

All in all, despite the lack of vino and other antipasti delights every show opening ought to have (especially in Italy), it was a worthwhile experience that I was happy to have experienced. Next time, I will try to join the VIP list. ☺

Larger than Life... and then SOME!

EXHIBITION REVIEW :: Milano (IT)
Julian Schnabel, "Paintings: 1978-2006"
@t Rontanda di Via Besana

"My paintings take up room, they make a stand. People will always react to that. Some people get inspired, others get offended. But, that's good. I like that."

-- J. Schnabel, on Painting

This is no understatement. Julian Schnabel's paintings are massive and take up a lot of room. They are huge, larger-than-life and make us ordinary mortal beings pale in comparison within their presence. His subject matter ranges from portraits of both men and women (friends/colleagues of his over the years) to self-portraits, from his take on Oriental geishas to mixed media collages, recycled art and drip paintings. Born to immigrant parents from the Czech Republic, Schnabel grew up in Brownsville, TX for most of his formative years. At first, he struggled in the art world and worked as a short-order cook until his first solo exhibition in 1975, in New York City. This retrospective of his nearly 30 years of making art led him not only to participate in the Venice Biennale, but also to become a major figure in the Neo-expressionism movement in the mid-1980s.

His portraits are abstract, with elongated figures and much influence alluded to Picasso. His paintings show that he was clearly influenced by Pollock; his "found-objects" collages, by Gaudi. Unconventional religious iconography (a male AND a female Jesus?) are also included in his oeuvre. These works come in all shapes and sizes, which forces one to really ponder on what is going on in all of these works. I personally walked around this exhibit for a good hour, searching every quadrum of my brain to figure out how on earth these canvases were created. It was as if I was seeing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel for the first time. WOW... did Schnabel use a ladder, or did he simply hang them on the wall and run into them with his paintbrush? Or were they laid flat on the ground and painted on, detail by detail?


It is important to state that sometimes: art is not about how beautiful the final product is, but more about the process it took to get there. You either like it or hate it: the choice is up to you. But, in any case, the closer you look, the more you will come appreciate the technique, skill and the amount of effort it took the artist to create these crazy works of massive quantities and sizes... whether or not you favor the subject matter.

After a thorough analysis of Schnabel’s works as a whole, I decided that my favorite technique was the globs of plaster paint over pieces of broken ceramic plates and saucers, used in his portraits, icons and landscapes, to help achieve tangible texture and taking the influence of Chuck Close to the next level. The wide variety of found and natural objects used by Schnabel, such as nestled together tree branches, as well as the incorporation of classical art materials such as pen & ink, conte' crayon and charcoal -- were more than enough to make my head spin in a state of awe.


The Rontanda di Via Besana is obviously the appropriate venue for such an exhibition. The huge, dome-like, former Renaissance basilica facility is extremely accommodating to the massive size of Schnabel’s works, the cool (and AIR-CONDITIONED) gallery space comfortable for its visitors and lots of natural light coming from the open windows above, along with the dim spotlights shining from above, exudes an essence of spirituality onto each work of art. Indeed a monumental location for a monumental exhibition.

holy COW! moooooooo....

MOOOO: Taking during the evening passageitta one cool evening in June, along Corso Vittorio Emmanuale II, aka. one of the major shopping streets in Milan.

Cows, cows, cows... everywhere! I thought this was something only small cities in the United States (ie. Harrisburg, PA) participated in, but lo' and behold, they are all over the streets of Milan's gorgeous historic centre. These cows were to be sold to raise money for charity, and were to be exhibited for a mere three months (April - June). Sounds like a great plan, right?

Street art is always a concept to ponder on, as it adds piazzazz to the mundane streets of the city and gives local/up-and-coming artists the chance to express their creativity. Both tourists and locals love taking pictures with it, and most importantly, can be used as a way to spread any kind of message (polticial, religious, social, cultural) to the masses.

Milan's Cow Parade 2007, however, was far from successful and street art didn't fare so well in the fashion capital of the world. Both local and national newspapers reported that Milan set a record for the number of cows vandalized, particularly during the night that the AC Milan football club won the European championships (24 May 2007). The poor cows were either burned, thrown into a fountain, vandalized with all sorts of materials or simply stolen.

Alternative ways to raise money for various charities are now being explored, and the cows have been replaced with neon sculptures that ironically do not light up at night. Hmmm... who knows what might happen next. Better luck next time, Milano!


For mooooo.re information, please visit: http://www.cowparademilano.it/index.php

ice ice milano?

Appropriate Music: Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

This ice sculpture was errected around 5 June 2007, in honor of World Environment Day 2007. This was built to raise awareness for environmental issues, and some sort of activist, public art disply took place in all the major European cities during this time.

celebrating 10 years of colourful explosion!

EXHIBITION REVIEW ::: Milano, IT
Günther Förg, 10 Anni -- Ala -- Förg
Salvatore & Caroline Ala Galleria

Wide open spaces. Think big, clear open windows, minimalist fonts used on the text panels + labels, white walls and amazing graphic design. This is the space gallery owners Salvatore and Caroline Ala are more than lucky to have. Now, think an incredible mixing of colors on the palatte before dabbing them on these huge, larger-than-life size canvases... and you now have the work of Günther Förg, a contemporary German artist, who has worked on these conceptual masterpieces for the last decade. The body of work he has created over this period of time is hard to narrow down to a single medium. Add in some of the friendliest, dressed in business casual attire, gallery assistants... who took the liberty to greet you at the door, hand you information about the artist, and even offer you water on that hot June afternoon (acqua naturale o frizzante) and you got what is perhaps the most professional art gallery in all of Milan!



From his early Conceptual Art of the 1970s, Förg has come a long way from the simplistic monochromes and greys. Over the years, he has specialized in photography, sculpture, prints, drawings, and of course, paintings. He also makes installations and murals, in all of which there is a distinct reference to architecture, landscape and form. This rings true in that although Förg's work is minimalist in nature (due to the constant repetition of his designs), there is always something spontaneous that seeks to erupt out of the paintings and seeks to be different.

Just like what art experts believe to be Cezanne's last painting (of the garden outside his studio, unfinished), Förg's work appear to be "almost landcapes" and "almost cityspaces"; the colors, shapes and form bunch together to form an "almost" identified subject matter. It is as if his intention was to finish these paintings to look somewhat representational, but purposely left them "unfinished" in order to instill an air of mystery and wonder for those who view his work. In fact, if you look closely at his canvases, you might just catch a glimpse of where he was headed with his idea. This, my friends, is conceptual art at its very best: born out the mind, conceived by the brain and carried out in an exhasting expression of colors and forms, dancing off the canvas for all the world to see.

This show, which comprises of 19 works of acrylic on canvas (1o of which are in a large format -195 x 230 cm), 6 acrylic collages on paper, 8 pastel designs on paper e 3 square cross-hatched designs on paper... exhibits the work of this German contemporary artist at its very best, while one can truly grasp where he is coming from. It is no wonder that when asked about one of his watercolors, Förg responded with the following quote:

"I have always avoided subject matter. In the watercolors of windows, I was able to approach the subject matter of the window and even let some figures sneak in... Another frequent motif is the staircase, which is the result of one of my favorite movies, Vertigo. Unpleasant, but it haunts me."

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meager photo show

:: EXHIBITION REVIEW ::
Louise Lawler/Cindy Sherman
Studio Guenzani ; Milano, IT

This was one of the first openings I went to in Milan, on 31 May 2007. This gallery alone cannot sum up the contemporary art scene in Milan, yet it did not make ways for a good impression. I call this show the "meager photo show" because there were only 7 works in the whole exhibition dedicated to these two artists. I was expecting a larger gallery with a wider collection of photographs, so this, of course, completely took me by surprise. Sometimes, one must realize that less can certainly be more....

About the Artists: Louise Lawler was born in 1947 in Bronxville, NY; Cindy Sherman ( New York ). was born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Both artists live and work in New York, NY. Since 1988, both artists ingurated a collaboration with Studio Guenzani.

Lawler and Sherman were two revolutionary artists that used photography as a method of expression in the late 70s and the 80s. Both are creative genuises: while Lawler underlines the influence of our perception of artistic objects (ie. paintings, sculptures, furniture, etc.) in her photographic ouevre, Sherman focuses primarily on contemporary iconography, and in the 80s and 90s focused on the representation on the stereotypical female by dressing up as those characters (housewife, model, clown, etc.) as well as violent scenes in our society that might appear to be grosteque and violent -- but yet, are blatantly honest.

This show, although small and meager in size, shines in that it provides a glimpse into the diverse photographs of these two American contemporary artists, who continue to transfigure the proper image and disperses the proper subject in a million different reflexes which in the end, represents a body of work that is stronger and more evident -- to communicate a message to the masses. Indeed art that does more than sit on its ass just to look pretty.

isolation & self-identity crisis

:: EXHIBITION REVIEW ::

Nowhere Gallery, Milano (IT)

Pier Paolo Maggini

"UNA SOLITUDINE TROPPO RUMOROSA" (A very noisy solitude)

Yet another gallery located in the back of the courtyard, with a secret door that leads you back into the bustling streets of Milan. These things amuse me as a foreigner, yet at the same time is something I have gotten used to over the months I've spent in this country. I was told to visit this gallery because the owner, Orio Vergani, is a close friend and collegue of my boss Pasquale Leccese. I did not know what to expect, nor did I know what kind of art this gallery specialized in.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by a flustered, middle aged man, who was smoking pot and his aggressive dog. I thought I was going to be attacked by the dog, who kept barking verociously at me, but thankfully the owner pulled him back and told him to knock it off. Needless to say, the pot smoking and barking of his dog continued during the whole time I was at the gallery. Afterwards, I scoffed at the lack of professionality yet would have found it to be more humorous if these actions were done in purpose, as if to allude to the title of this exhibition as a whole.

This gallery may have been small and overlooked, but the artwork was poignant and powerful. Pier Paolo Maggini has created a series of detailed, realistic paintings of empty football (soccer) stadiums and race tracks, depicting what is described as "confined solitude between vitality and vivaciousness". These paintings are small, no bigger than 11 X 14 and are extremely detailed. These objects become alive, and are like forms of life to us: they are jolted from a point of restlessness and a more optical motion of what is real. They are not vital, and it is not the life of one to shake them, to cross them, but solely one's fiction, or better yet its desire, that is to be carried out.




The "waitings" represented in these paintings are the state of mind of those who will wait to get rid of a hidden inertia. It accumulates refusals from the trash dumps, which then attend to transform itself into masses, in compact structures. The end of these territories become landscapes. The shapes that fill up the stages, which eventually change themselves, become figures. Some works echo the fascination of the instinct ones that seems to take on while in these situations, acting dishonestly in order to exceed the anonymity. The painting is serenely pulverized, and is stretched to be ulteriorly dense, yet coincided.

This seems to be enough to get his message across and continue to ask why so many are "screaming in silence" yet cannot be heard. So many people are isolated, hidden in the seats of the stadium and wondering what their purpose in this world is. Like rubbish, so many people feel that they are isolated, and are only here to eventually rot away into the earth. Why bother with morality? Why even live?

Though depressing in nature, this was a powerful exhibit that although made one feel uncomfortable, are important questions to consider regarding why many feel we are simply a means to an end. We've created this concept. Just look at the empty stadiums/racing tracks.

ARRRRRRRR.... some!

:: EXHIBITION REVIEW ::
AR Contemporary Gallery, Milano (IT)
Danny Rolph, "Happenstance"

A stunning mixed media and collage attempt. A variety of shapes, swirls and colors reminicent of the groovy 70s. Texture abound, and materials are mixed to create new forms the human eye can only begin to imagine. This is the artwork of Danny Rolph, heavily emphasized in his current exhibition: "Happenstance", his second solo exhibition in Milan.

A native of Great Britain, Rolph has been influenced by Italian culture since the days of his youth. Back then, he was interested in a combination of Italian design, fashion and football. Those interests never escaped him, and now has been linked by an astounding fascination with the country’s art, its colors, architecture, energy and most importantly, confidence. This exudes with full force in the body of work exhibited in this show.

When looking at conceptual art, and well, art in general, it is important to instinctively respond to what is before you, rather than making assumptions of what the artist's original intention was. That was the challenge I gave myself while viewing Rolph's works in this exhibition. I noted that several of the paintings were done in the form of a collage, that had a 3-D effect and that almost always, the artist used strong, bold colors on a white canvas, with a sharp grey background. I also found his shredded paper collage, composed in a variety of media (including glitter) to be extremely compelling. Just by looking at these works, one could immediately tell that they were meant to be an exclamation of sorts, a celebration of art, design and culture... but yet, at the same time, the bombardment of all these things together at once. My observations, of course, came pretty close to the artists' original intent, which was the following (taken from the AR Contemporary Gallery Press Release):

"Above all, the mixture of different paints, applications, outlines and collage generated a striking metaphor for the sensual bombardment of modern life by simultaneous sounds, smells, shapes and colours; by the continuous overlapping of fleeting glances, textures in movement, changing light and the memory of all that."




It is also important to note the successful exhibition design of Rolph's show. The use of space was terrific, because there weren't too many paintings hung together side by side, and allowed the viewers to walk around without feeling bombarded, even though Rolph intended to illustrate that very concept in his work. The space inabled the viewers to breathe easier while viewing the artwork. It was almost as if each painting were its own, hung on a single wall space individually, for each viewer to marvel at. The walls coincided with the mettallic effect found in most of Rolph's paintings, and the floor (the original color, I'm sure) was this shiny, grey slate color that dazzled and spiced up the atmosphere even more. There were no labels or wall text, only numbers -- which is, indeed, a very contemporary way of exhibiting artwork.

All in all, it was a very well done show that was both asethetically stimulating and pleasing to the eye. "Happenstance" is an imaginative route that will definitely open doors for British abstract painting from here on out.