News | Naima Morelli

Published! Tucked in by Marina Abramovich on The Times of Malta

20-08-2014

timesofmalta2

The Times of Malta has just published my review of Marina Abramovic’s 512 Hours performance at the Serpentine Gallery, London.
I’m very happy to have the article published on the leading Malta’s newspaper, because that is where my favourite comic book character Corto Maltese is from!
“When being tucked in for the last time as a kid – I must have been five years old or thereabouts – I couldn’t have imagined the next person to pop me under the bed sheets fondly would be one of the most famous performers in contemporary art: Marina Abramovich…”

Here’s the link to the online version of the magazine

Private Screening of “Indonesia, Orienti Visioni Contemporanee” for the Indonesian Embassy

By: Naima Morelli

18-07-2014

English, Indonesia, Italy, News, Visit

indo1

On July 18, right after an unexpected rain in Rome, we held a private screening of “Indonesia – Orienti, Visioni Contemporanee” for three members of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Italy. MNAO Contemporary’s Chief Curator Valentina Levy and I had an informal chat with Counsellor Nindarsari Utomo and Third Secretary Tinus Zainal. We discussed the difficulty to keep alive tradition in relation of Krisna Murti’s “Empty Theather”. We also dwelt on the value of documentation and national identity with Tintin Wulia’s video and we observed how the young generations of Italians can easily relate to SlavePianos and Punkasila’s work. The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Italy is constantly promoting cultural events across the two countries, and it has been great to see how visual art can be part of that. Here a couple of pictures!

Installation View: Indonesia, Orienti Visioni Contemporanee at Villa Ada Festival

By: Naima Morelli

16-07-2014

English, Indonesia, Italy, News, Visit

At the beginning of 2012 I started making research about Indonesian contemporary art and now I’m excited to had the chance to introduce some of these amazing artists to an Italian public through “Indonesia – Orienti Visioni Contemporanee” , a series of screening of video art in Villa Ada’s Art Project Space.
For this screening, part of MNAO Contemporary program, I wanted to show three completely different approaches to video art, presenting new-media pioneers Krisna Murti and Tintin Wulia, and the most irreverent bunch of punks in the whole Asia-Pacific, namely Punkasila and Slave Pianos.
Despite the title of the program, I tried to steer away from any kind of representation of “Indonesianess”. Krisna Murti makes an aesthetically mesmerizing observation on traditions slowly fading away. On the other hand, Tintin Wulia’s way of working goes beyond her nationality, in fact she works around the concept of nation and national boundaries itself. Punkasila and Slave Pianos, joining forces just like a crossover from some comic book, give space to their wildest fantasies, imagining an alien invasion starting from Java.
So, here a preview of what you will see this week if you happen to pass by the Art Project Space in Villa Ada.

Indonesia – Orienti Visioni Contemporanee al Villa Ada Festival

By: Naima Morelli

13-07-2014

Indonesia, Italiano, Italy, News

PosterIndonesiaVillaAda

Dal 14 al 2o Luglio curerò una rassegna di video arte indonesiana nell’ambito del Festival di Villa Ada. L’iniziativa è stata organizzata da MNAO Contemporary, il programma di arte contemporanea del Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale Giuseppe Tucci di Roma, e si focalizza su diversi paesi asiatici. L’inaugurazione è domani sera dalle 9 in poi… intanto beccatevi il comunicato!

Villa Ada Festival Roma Incontra il Mondo presenta…

“ORIENTI – VISIONI CONTEMPORANEE”
Programma di video-proiezioni ed installazioni di artisti contemporanei asiatici diretto da Valentina Gioia Levy, con la collaborazione di Elena Abbiatici e Naima Morelli

Presso l’Art Project Space
Adagio Bar
A partire dal 4 luglio
INDONESIA 14 – 20 Luglio

A cura di Naima Morelli
14 – Presentazione scena artistica indonesiana e introduzione al lavoro dei tre artisti in mostra.

15/16 – Krisna Murti – Empty Theather – Video installation (multi-channel video), DVD 3 projections, 3’58’’, loop, sound, 2010.

17/18 – Fallen –Tintin Wulia – Video projection (single-channel), 18’43”, loop, 2011

19/20 – The Lepidopters – Slave Pianos and Punkasila – Video projection (single-channel), loop, 2014
Proiezioni dalle 21 in poi
Per la settimana dedicata all’Indonesia verranno proiettati tre video che rappresentano alcune sfaccettature della complessa e variegata scena artistica locale in rapido sviluppo.
Krisna Murti e Tintin Wulia sono pionieri della video arte in Indonesia. Entrambi cominciano a lavorare con i new media all’alba della caduta del regime del dittatore Suharto nel ’98, in un clima di libertà espressiva fino a quel momento negato.
Punkasila invece è un gruppo artistico nato a Yogyakarta nel 2007 da una residenza all’Indonesian Visual Art Archive, allora Yayasan Seni Cemeti, di Danius Kesminas. Il gruppo originale di Punkasila conta sette giovani artisti indonesiani più Kesminas, ma è costantemente in espansione e aperto a nuove collaborazioni, tra cui quella con Slave Pianos per questo video.

Press coverage for the Nothing’s happened since Yesterday exhibition

By: Naima Morelli

07-07-2014

Australia, English, Italiano, Italy, News

donatoaustralia

Kenny Pittock and Georgina Lee’s double-solo exhibition “Nothing’s happened since Yesterday” at Galleria 291est, Rome, curated by me, has closed a few weeks ago. Here’s a selection from the press coverage of the event:

– An interesting and funny interview with Georgina Lee and Kenny Pittock by Donato Di Pelino on Art a Part of Cult(ure) – Italian

– Face Magazine listed “Nothing’s happened since Yesterday” as a “not to be missed” exhibition alongside Warhol and Frida Kahlo – Italian

– Exhibition preview on Art a Part of Culture – Italian

– The event on Artribune – Italian/English

– The event on Undo.net- Italian

– The event on Exibart – Italian

And the best is yet to come… I can’t wait to see to video of the artists at work by Mauro Piccini from Hour Interview!

Published: True North and Deep Blue – an interview with Emily Ferretti

By: Naima Morelli

02-07-2014

Australia, English, Published

emily1

The Australian art magazine Trouble has just published the interview I had in Melbourne with painter Emily Ferretti. The interview is part of my reportage about emerging artists in Melbourne.

Here the link to the interview

Here the link to the online version of the magazine

Published! Interview with Benjamin Skepper on Art a Part of Cult(ure)

By: Naima Morelli

08-06-2014

Australia, Italiano, Italy, Japan, Published, Reportage

The Italian web magazine Art a Part of Cult(ure) has just published the interview I had in Rome with artist Benjamin Skepper with the title “Benjamin Skepper, l’olandese tra Australia, Tokio, Russia, resto del mondo e bellezza. L’intervista”. The interview is part of my reportage about artists in Melbourne.

Here the link to the interview

Talk at Rome’s Art Academy with Kenny Pittock and Georgina Lee

By: Naima Morelli

06-06-2014

Australia, English, Italy, News, Visit

For the “Nothing happened since yesterday – Due Artisti da Melbourne” exhibition, I organized a talk at Accademia di Belle Arti Roma – aka Rome’s Art Academy – with the two exhibiting artists.
The talk was hosted by Prof. Isabella Tirelli and was meant to fuel a discussion with the students about the path of artists after art school. I thought that the experience of Kenny Pittock and Georgina Lee could have been interesting for the students. To start as emerging artist in Melbourne is certainly easier in Rome, thanks also to a very tight community and the presence of artist-run space. I hoped that by comparing the Australian art system to the Italian one, the students could have been inspired and come with new ideas for their own art environment.
I started the talk by introducing the Australian context and my research on the Melbourne art scene. Then Kenny and Georgina went on talking about their own work.
I’m happy about the outcome of the talk. Some students asked about the conceptual process of making work, some others inquired about how an Italian artist could start exhibiting in Australia. Georgina replied very clearly to all the questions and Kenny made even the more impassible students laugh. A student called Francesco even made a drawing of Georgina and Kenny and gave to them as a gift!

Published: Suburban Spendour – an interview with Graham Miller

By: Naima Morelli

04-06-2014

Australia, English, Interview, Published, Reportage

grahammiller1

The Australian art magazine Trouble has just published the interview I had in Perth with photographer Graham Miller. The interview is part of my reportage about artists in Perth.

Here the link to the interview

Here the link to the online version of the magazine

Opening night at Galleria 291est: Nothing’s Happened since Yesterday

By: Naima Morelli

02-06-2014

Australia, English, Italy, News, Visit

I feel like the curator’s job is a little like Charles Xavier’s at times. After all both the curator and Prof. Xavier go around the world gathering mutants with superpowers – or artists in my case. My team for the “Nothing’s has happened since Yesterday” exhibition is sure smaller than a Marvel one but by no means less powerful.
One day, surfing on the internet, I stumbled upon a blog which reviewed exhibitions in Australia. It was when I was researching about the art scene in Melbourne, so I send a mail to the website asking for an interview with one of the two authors. At table of a cafe, waiting to be interviewed, sat a petite girl with resolute manners, nervous nostrils and round glasses. She was called Georgina Lee and chatting with her I found out that she was not only an arts writer, but also an artist.
Few weeks later I visited the TCB art space with a friend, and we were greeted by a gallery sitter with curly dusty hair and a worn out jumper. “I’ll give you guys a tour”, he mumbled and he started to list the names of the artists exhibiting, gesticulating with the hands in his jumper’s front pocket. One sculpture hanged on the wall looked like something that I had seen in exhibition at the Perth Centre for Contemporary Art a short time before. “Oh… that’s my work”, he said quickly and shyly. That’s how I met Kenny Pittock.

Photogallery: Setting up the Nothing’s Happened since Yesterday exhibition

By: Naima Morelli

30-05-2014

Australia, English, Italy, News, Visit

“Nothing’s happened since Yesterday – Due artisti da Melbourne” is going to open tomorrow at Galleria 291est in Rome and we are super-excited. These days have been pretty busy for exhibiting artists Georgina Lee and Kenny Pittock; I dragged them to gallery and vernissage all over Rome, yesterday we had a talk at the Art Academy (pics soon on this blog) and most importantly they have installed their work in the gallery. On the second day both artists showed up at Galleria 291est sporting “I love Rome” t-shirts. Kenny was so in love with his t-shirt to the point that he refused to change it even for the ultra-posh opening in Villa Medici, the French Academy. That’s the best part of being an artist after all, you can wear whatever the hell you want and no one can tell you anything!
The whole setting-up process has been filmed by Mauro Piccinini of Hour Interview, a great video series that catches snippets of artists’ working day. I’m super curious to see the result! If you are in Rome in these days, come visit us for the opening tomorrow!

Incontro con Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma

By: Naima Morelli

28-05-2014

Australia, English, Italiano, Italy, News

manifesto accademia

Giovedì 29 maggio ore 15
incontro pre-mostra con gli artisti Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee
incontro moderato da Isabella Tirelli e Naima Morelli

Thursday May 29 , 3 pm
pre-exhibition talk with artists Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee
talk moderated by Isabella Tirelli and Naima Morelli

Accademia di Belle Arti
Roma via ripetta 222 Aula 207

Giovedì pomeriggio all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma si terrà il talk degli artisti australiani Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee. La discussione, che coinvolgerà anche gli studenti, verterà sulle peculiarità del sistema dell’arte australiano rispetto a quello italiano e sul percorso artistico degli artisti emergenti in entrambi i paesi.
Nel corso dell’incontro gli artisti discuteranno la propria pratica artistica in vista dell’imminente mostra alla Galleria 291est, curata da me nell’ambito della rassegna Common Place. Inoltre, codiuvata dalla Prof. Isabella Tirelli, fornirò una breve introduzione del contesto australiano basandomi sulla mia ricerca condotta a Melbourne nel corso del 2013.

A talk by artists Kenny Pittock and Georgina Lee will be held at Rome’s Art Academy on Thursday afternoon. The discussion with the students will focus on the peculiarities of the Australian art system compared to the Italian one and on the emerging artists’ path in both countries. The artists will also talk about their work for their upcoming exhibition at Galleria 291est, Rome, curated by me for the Common Place series. Together with lecturer Prof. Isabella Tirelli, I will also give an introduction to the Australian context based on my research on the Melbourne art scene.

Naima Morelli

Published! Tucked in by Marina Abramovich on The Times of Malta

Private Screening of “Indonesia, Orienti Visioni Contemporanee” for the Indonesian Embassy

Installation View: Indonesia, Orienti Visioni Contemporanee at Villa Ada Festival

Indonesia – Orienti Visioni Contemporanee al Villa Ada Festival

Press coverage for the Nothing’s happened since Yesterday exhibition

Published: True North and Deep Blue – an interview with Emily Ferretti

Published! Interview with Benjamin Skepper on Art a Part of Cult(ure)

Talk at Rome’s Art Academy with Kenny Pittock and Georgina Lee

Published: Suburban Spendour – an interview with Graham Miller

Opening night at Galleria 291est: Nothing’s Happened since Yesterday

Photogallery: Setting up the Nothing’s Happened since Yesterday exhibition

Incontro con Kenny Pittock e Georgina Lee all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma

About

MY BOOKS

Categories

Archives