PRESENTATION: Filanda ART AM 4

The Italian city of Soncino is the birthplace of Piero Manzoni, the town is recognized as a center of creativity in art and craft. Spazio Soncino will host “FILANDA: ART AM 4 (Artisti Americani e Non), the fourth iteration of an annual exhibition of path-breaking contemporary art organized by Luigi Cazzaniga and Ilka Scobie.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Ilka Scobie & Luigi Cazzaniga

On view in the Filanda cultural complex, which is housed in a converted historic silk factory in the heart of the town, the exhibition “FILANDA: ART AM 4” explores the ever-evolving dialogue between Italian and American artists. Highlighting stylistic diversity, this expansive group exhibition nevertheless reveals shared sources of inspiration and universal aesthetic and philosophical concerns. Among its highlights, the exhibition will present new works by a number of artists, including a site-specific installation by Ugo Rondinone; vibrant painting by Chris Martin, deploying his signature use of glitter to uncanny effect; a shamanistic fantasy portrait by Tamara Gonzalez; and an ebullient canvas by acclaimed self-taught artist Uman. The creative exuberance of such works by American participants will be echoed in those of their Italian peers, including Elisabetta Zangrandi, Michela Martello, and Vera Girivi, whose brightly colored and highly stylized works describe complex interior visions and unfurl stylistic vocabularies packed with personal iconography. Featured local artists  work with recycled textiles, hand forged metal, traditional painting techniques, and sculpture, while drawing connections between – and piercing the boundaries of – abstraction and figuration. Photography is represented by Jamie Diamond’s exploration of familial relationships (“the grey area between reality and artifice”), and find counterpoint in the work of photographer Rita Barros. Tasmin Burgess works in the same photorealistic style as Marie Cristina Cavagnoli, both creating exquisite graphite female-centric images.

Participating Artists: Hanny Ahern, Rita Barros, Alighiero Boetti, Travis Brown, Tasmin Burgess, Bruno Buttarelli, Maria Christina Cavagnoli, Eteri Chkadua, Giacomo Stringhino Coboldi, Laura Cazzaniga, Max Cavallari, Jamie Diamond, Ileana Florescu, Aldo Gallina, Vera Girivi, Tamara Gonzalez, Shahrzad Kamel, Serena Lewis, Nemo Librizzi, Luigi di Luca, Claudia Margadonna, Michela Martello, Chris Martin, Demis Martinelli, Elena Monzo, Francesco Nazardo, Valery Oisteanu, Ruth Oiseanu, Alessandro Pedrini, Ugo Rondinone, Gigi Roveda, Lola Schnabel, Adelisa Selimbasic, Atitilio and Paola Solzi, Elisabetta Zangrandi, and Uman.

Photo: Ugo Rondinone, Touching the Void, 2008, 300 x 300 cm, Courtesy Ilka Scobie & Luigi Cazzaniga

 

Info: Curators: Ilka Scobie & Luigi Cazzaniga, Spazio Soncino, Filanda Complex, Via Iv Novembre, 15, Soncino, Lombardy, Italy, Duration: 24/8-20/9/2023, Days & Hours: Fri 14:30-19:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-12:30 & 14:30-19:00