Naima Morelli

Alessandro Cannistrà Studio Visit, San Lorenzo, Rome + Preview Exhibition

22-02-2014

studio1

I recently visited the studio of artist Alessandro Cannistrà in San Lorenzo.
It consisted in a white, neat room, pretty bare, except for some books, stucked in an arch in the wall over the door, and a black sofa with some black hats on it.
“This is an original gaucho hat.” he said grabbing a wide-brimmed leather hat on top of the stack “I bought it in Argentina, during my artist residency in Buenos Aires”.
Alessandro has travelled quite a bit lately and he recently relocated in Rome. His work keep on travelling internationally through exhibition and fairs, that’s why his studio was almost empty at the moment.
My attention was attracted by some 3D reconstructions that were pinpointed on the wall.
“Is that what are you working on at the moment?” I asked
Alessandro explained me that he was working on these pyramids for his new solo exhibition at Toselli Gallery, in Milan, curated by Luca Tomìo. The title was “Oggetto di Pensiero”, namely “Object of thinking”, and will open on March 28.

Dan Flavin in the Chiesa Rossa, Milan

By: Naima Morelli

19-02-2014

English, Italy, United States, Visit

Milan is a strange city. It’s not like Rome, where beauty is blatant and majestic.
Milan is more discreet, its beauties are hidden and only locals and curious people living there for a long time are aware of them.
Sometimes it feels like falling down the rabbit hole. What I mean is that you wouldn’t expect to find conceptual art, Dan Flavin to be precise, in a quiet suburbia at the end of the green line, Abbiategrasso (which in an English translation sounds like “Be fat”).

Viaggio tra le Accademie di Belle Arti di Italia

By: Naima Morelli

31-01-2014

Essay, Italiano, Italy, Visit

accademia

Ho recentemente ritrovato nei meandri di internet un mio articolo del 2008, riguardante gli esami di ammissione in tre delle più prestigiose Accademie di Belle Arti italiane, Roma, Napoli e Firenze. Al tempo mi recai nelle tre città per ovviare alla latitanza di informazioni sul web riguardo agli esami di ammissione, quello che trovai invece fu una sorta di specchio dell’Italia. Agli esordi del 2014 non penso che la situazione sia molto cambiata.

Viaggio tra le Accademie di Belle Arti d’Italia

Le informazioni sulle Accademie di Belle Arti Italiane sono scarse, i siti ufficiali poco aggiornati, le segreterie avare di informazioni, i forum a cui si rivolgono i ragazzi telegrafici. Abbiamo dato un’occhiata alle prove d’ammissione nelle Accademie di Belle arti di Firenze, Roma e Napoli: ecco il verdetto.

“Di dove sei?”
A farmi la domanda è una ragazza dall’aspetto un po’ alternativo, lunghi capelli castano chiaro e look hippie: “Io sono di Bologna, ho fatto il test di ammissione anche là, ma dicono che sono tutti raccomandati, e comunque è meglio farlo da più parti, perché se non entri hai sempre un’altra possibilità”.

A peek into Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan

By: Naima Morelli

26-01-2014

English, Reportage, Research

Azerbaijan_rel_2004

This year I will be busy finalizing my Indonesian book project and organizing the material from the Melbourne reportage.
In the meantime I can’t help reading articles about contemporary art in countries that I would like to visit.
That’s why I decided to start this column on my blog, gathering links and images for hypotetical art reportages in the future. You never know!

I want to start with Azerbaijan. Its pavillion already catch my attention during the last Venice Biennale. If you’re interesting in knowing more about contemporary art in this country, here a digest of links:

My text for Robberto’s “Fake (Skin)” exhibition in LA

By: Naima Morelli

18-01-2014

English, Essay, News, United States

fakeskin_poster

Robberto is a talented emerging Italian artist that I have been not only following but also collecting.
I recently wrote the text for his exhibition Fake (Skin), now on at Madhood Temporary in Los Angeles. I posted it below along with some pictures that Robberto sent me as a preview.

FAKE (SKIN)

For his first solo show in the United States, Robberto is presenting a new series of work realized during his stay in Los Angeles.
His research starts from a linguistic observation around the meaning of the word buck, that is used for call “dollars ”
The artist decided to go deeper into this duality and study the etymology of this expression, finding out that buck is the abbreviation of buckskin, a common medium of exchange in trading between the natives and the Europeans.
There are documents from 1748 saying “Every cask of Whiskey shall be sold to you [Indians] for 5 Bucks.” The transition from buckskin to dollars seems only natural.

This finding leads the artist to think about the perception of wildlife and nature in the city of Los Angeles.
He reached the conclusion that the nature in town, is just a fake perception of the real natural environment and that the trees, the water and the animals have just been pushed in 150 years, a really short time, to cohabit together with 20 millions of peoples, this created in him a feeling of displacement.

This is Not, Contemporary Art Exhibition: Cannistà, Formica, Puxeddu

By: Naima Morelli

14-01-2014

Italiano, Italy, Review, Visit

C’era insomma un tempo dove il garage non era più quel luogo dove parcheggiavi la macchina e stipavi il televisore rotto.
C’era un tempo dove tutto era spartano e vivido. Basico. Come dire, un garage, un gallerista e la centralità dell’arte.
Grossomodo è così che l’arte moderna in Italia si è incamminata verso la contemporaneità.
Erano tempi mitici, dove le gallerie venivano allagate o nelle quali passeggiavano cavalli.
L’unico problema a quei tempi, piuttosto marginale per l’arte contemporanea, era dove parcheggiare l’automobile.

Adesso probabilmente la gente prende meno multe per divieto di sosta, ma quell’atmosfera grunge e sincera sembra essere sparita. Diversamente da altre città europee, a Roma e a Milano le alternative alle immacolate stanze dell’arte contemporanea sono veramente poche.
“L’arte contemporanea italiana è diventata sempre più istituzionalizzata. Non c’è traccia delle esperienze d’avanguardia degli anni sessanta e settanta. Sono sorpreso in particolare dagli artisti più giovani. Sono infatti proprio loro i primi a cercare di entrare in un sistema dell’arte già bello e pronto, e nemmeno si sforzano di immaginare soluzioni alternative. La stessa pratica artistica sembra essere diventata una faccenda secondaria”, afferma l’artista Alessandro Cannistrà.

Published! Review of Martina Angius’ exhibition on Art a Part of Cult(ure)

By: Naima Morelli

30-12-2013

Italiano, Italy, Published, Review

dipelino

The Italian web magazine Art a Part of Cult(ure) has just published my review of Martina Angius’ exhibition “Ordine” curated by Donato Di Pelino at Muga Gallery, Rome.

Here the link to the review

Published! Bali Bulè on I Magazine Bali

By: Naima Morelli

19-12-2013

English, Indonesia, Italy, Published, Review

imagazine

The Indonesian magazine I Magazine Bali has just published my review of the Bali Bulè exhibition at Museo Archeologico in Naples, featuring artists Bickerton, Ontani and Sciascia.

Here the link to the magazine website

Dino Ignani 80’s Dark Portraits at st foto libreria galleria, Rome

By: Naima Morelli

12-12-2013

English, Italy, News

Alberto

If you think that in the eighties in Italy there were just Loredana Bertè, Donatella Rettore and the Diaframma to dress weirdly, you are wrong. The eighties in Italy were truly rad. (If you are not Italian there are good chances you never hear of Loredana Bertè, Donatella Rettore and especially the Diaframma).

Anyways, if you have any doubt about the radness of the eighties in Italy, you should check st. foto libreria galleria, ironically just two steps away from the Vatican. You will be surprised to know that all the people looking at you from the pictures on the wall were actually everyday roman people, except that by night they transformed into dark eighties rockers.

The photographic work of Dino Ignani is anthropological. The portraits are almost segnaletic pictures, with a neutral background and no particular choice of light or pose.
He was “archiving” the underground dark scene of Rome. All these young people were photographed in roman discos and they dressed up for the occasion.

“It was startling to see all these people coming at the opening of the exhibition” said curator Paola Paleari ” you can tell that there were the same people of the pictures, but they look cleaned up from that dark look and even their attitude was different”.

It was an interesting choice from the st gallery to cover this less-known period of the Italian recent history, focusing on that particular community. For some it would be nostalgia, for some others even inspirational. Eighties are back.

Published! Bali Bulè review on Artribune

By: Naima Morelli

10-12-2013

Indonesia, Italiano, Italy, Published, Review

artribunebali

The Italian magazine Artribune has just published my review of the Bali Bulè exhibition at Museo Archeologico in Naples, featuring artists Bickerton, Ontani and Sciascia.

Here the link to the review

Published! Blood Sport with Tarryn Gill on Trouble Magazine

By: Naima Morelli

04-12-2013

Australia, English, Interview, Published, Reportage

troublepag1

The Australian magazine Trouble has just published the interview I had in Perth with artist Tarryn Gill. The interview is part of my reportage about the Perth Art Scene.

Here the link to the interview

Here the link to the online version of the magazine

Marco Cassani’s “Imagining Indonesia, Tribute to Sudjojono” at Tonyraka, Bali

By: Naima Morelli

22-11-2013

English, Indonesia, Italy, News

cassani

I met Marco Cassani in Bali during my reportage about contemporary art in Indonesia. What supposed to be an interview has become a lively chat about Marco’s art, hallucinogenic experiences and, of course, Bali. A month ago he sent me this mail about his new work that is going to be exhibit at “Imagining Indonesia, Tribute to S.Sudjojono” on the 23rd of November at Tonyraka Gallery in Bali:

Dear Naima,

How are you?

I am sending you the picture of my new work for the group exhibition
Tribute to Sudjojono at Tonyraka gallery on November, 23rd.

The work, entitled ‘CHANCE Project 2, Tribute to S. Sudjojono’, consists in:

1) a sculptor that represents the Sudjojono head (cement, 140 x 90 x 90 cm)

2) a box (wood, 120 x 70 x 45 cm) with a text (“This sculpture is designed
for people to interact with. The audience is free to do whatever they
want, with or without the tools provided. This is part of an interactive
event between art and its audience. The result of this encounter is a
reflection of the behaviour of the people. As Sudjojono stated Еarth of
Indonesia should reflect the character of the land and its people.”)

Naima Morelli

Alessandro Cannistrà Studio Visit, San Lorenzo, Rome + Preview Exhibition

Dan Flavin in the Chiesa Rossa, Milan

Viaggio tra le Accademie di Belle Arti di Italia

A peek into Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan

My text for Robberto’s “Fake (Skin)” exhibition in LA

This is Not, Contemporary Art Exhibition: Cannistà, Formica, Puxeddu

Published! Review of Martina Angius’ exhibition on Art a Part of Cult(ure)

Published! Bali Bulè on I Magazine Bali

Dino Ignani 80’s Dark Portraits at st foto libreria galleria, Rome

Published! Bali Bulè review on Artribune

Published! Blood Sport with Tarryn Gill on Trouble Magazine

Marco Cassani’s “Imagining Indonesia, Tribute to Sudjojono” at Tonyraka, Bali

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