© IGAV Pubblication – 7th Edition, 1st e-book Edition January 2016 IGAV – Istituto Italiano per l’Arte Visiva – No profit association – Established 2005 - Officially recognized 11 January 2007 Documents from IGAV’s archives (please, report any inaccuracies to igav@igav-art.org)
2
INTRODUCTION
IGAV, the Garuzzo Institute for Visual Arts, was born in 2005, an extemporary idea of Giorgio and Rosalba Garuzzo whilst travelling around the world. They asked themselves why so many talented young Italian artists were finding it so difficult to make a living and get known internationally, when some foreign artists, perhaps less talented, had a better standing. “If no one is helping them, why don’t we try? Lets leave others to complain and not do anything”. More than ten years later, after a lot of work, events and… resources spent, not just ideas, we may have look at what was achieved and let the results speak for themselves. Now we must face the future and make decisions: the future is in constant movement, never standing still.
3
INDEX
Chapter 1: Italian and Chinese Art in the Charm of Capri
page 5
Chapter 2: 30 Years of Empathy with China
page 12
Chapter 3: an Invitation to Amman
page 37
Chapter 4: Twenty-for-One Around both Worlds
page 40
Chapter 5: for Italians‌ within Italy
page 51
Chapter 6: International Opportunities
page 63
Chapter 7: the Hub at the Castiglia
page 70
Conclusion: People, Money and‌ the Future
page 76
Appendix 1 - List of Exhibitions
page 79
Appendix 2 - List of Hosting Museums
page 82
Appendix 3 - List of Prizes and Winners
page 84
Appendix 4 - List of the Artists
page 85
Appendix 5 - List of Curators and Artistic Directors
page 91
Appendix 6 - Institutions and Organisations that Gave Donations
page 92
4
CHAPTER 1
Italian and Chinese Art in the Charm of Capri Many of the exhibitions that IGAV had before realized were shown in some of the most wonderful locations around the world, but there could be no better way to celebrate its first 10 years, in 2014, than by holding an exhibition in one of the most fascinating places in the world, full of natural beauty, history and millenary magic, where the worth of the contemporary artists are further exalted by the uniqueness of the setting: the Certosa di San Giacomo, in Capri, just uphill of the fabled “Faraglioni”. Then, in 2015, the epochal attraction that the Island epitomises on the international “intellighentia” gave an occasion for the meeting of Italian artists (whose cultural promotion is the precise IGAV mission) with the artistic world of China, a country where since 2006 the Association exchanges experiences and cultivates frienships (see Chapter 2). Founded in ca. 1300, in Angio’ times, the convent has been through many historical moments up to the last restoration works, when it was assigned to the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Napoli.
5
2014, “Visions in the Certosa, Italian Artists in Capri” The exhibition, conceived and organised by IGAV was promoted by the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo (MiBACT) Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico Artistico Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Città di Napoli e della Reggia di Caserta. It opened on the 13th September 2014 at the presence of: for MiBACT Biancaneve Codacci Pisanelli, head of the secretariat of the Secretary of State, Sandra Tucci of Direzione generale per il paesaggio, le belle arti, l’architettura e l’arte contemporanee del Servizio architettura e arte contemporanee, and Raffaella Strati; for the city of Capri, the mayor Giovanni De Martino, the vice mayor Roberto Bozzaotre and the councillor of the cultural events Caterina Mansi Giordano; and moreover, Anna Maria Romano, director of the Certosa of Capri and Angela Tecce, director of the museum of Castel Sant Elmo of Napoli.
The invitation to the exhibition and the main sponsor’s logo
!
At the opening, in the cloisters of the old convent
The incomparable brilliance of the Caprese skies enhance the works of art. Above: “Bouvet Island #3’ by Stefano Cagol. Left: “Nido”(Nest) by Maura Banfo, which romantically stands in what was the private orchard of the prior of the convent.
6
The project, curated by Alessandro Demma, was intended to show some of the most significant experiences of Italian art system of current generations: a group exhibition that would mark some stages of the art of the present interpreted by artists of different ages. The protagonists, through the use of different languages and techniques - drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation - have therefore proposed their view, reflecting on the meaning of making art The sea is boss, both inside and outside the exhibition. Above: the bathymetric maps by Domenico Mancini, ‘Avviso ai naviganti’ (warning for sailors), not only show the depth of the seas but also the number of victims drowned in the Med. Below: the new geography by Nicus Lucà “Taglia Unica” (one size) in front of the Faraglioni cliffs
today.
Mariangela Levita and her artwork “In sintesi” It is difficult for those not in the business to imagine the technical problems faced when organising an exhibition like the one at the Certosa: all the pieces of art had to be circumnavigated along the narrow streets of the Island in the dead of night. Carried by hand most of the time and with the greatest of care to not break or scratch anything, as requested, for example, by the Fabio Viales aeroplane, made out of marble, which is 2 metres long and yet weighs only 60 kilos
7
32 artworks were on show, by Afterall, Maura Banfo, Matteo Basilè, Domenico Borrelli, Botto&Bruno, Stefano Cagol, Gianni Caravaggio, Filippo Centenari, Davide Coltro, Peter Demetz, Stanislao Di Giugno, Rocco Dubbini, Eron, Marco Grassi, Paolo Grassino, Francesco Jodice, Mariangela Levita, Nicus Lucà, Domenico Antonio Mancini, Masbedo, Marzia Migliora, Moio&Sivelli, Perino&Vele, Giuseppe Pietroniro, Giulia Piscitelli, Marco Nereo Rotelli, Rosy Rox, Francesco Sena, Diana Avgusta Stauer, Adrian Tranquilli, Fabio Viale, Ciro Vitale. The jury were Guido Curto, Roberto Lambarelli, Gianluca Marziani. The relevance and the success of the exhibition at the Certosa di Capri convinced IGAV and its partner Sisal to carry on the show at a Milan location at the beginning of 2015 (see Chapter 5).
IGAV-CAEG agreement On May 6th, 2015 an important agreement was signed for the creation and exchange of initiatives between IGAV and the China Arts and Entertainement Group (CAEG), with 4-years validity. The Group, property of the China State Council and supervised by the Ministries of Culture and Finance, is the largest and most important association for arts and enterteinement at State level. With offices in Shanghai, Venice 2015: CAEG vice-president Yan Don signes the agreement with IGAV representatives Guangzhou and Lanzhou, it owns more than 20 enterprises, including the China Performing Arts Agency (CPAA) and the China International Exhibition Agency (CIEA), since more than 50 anni the most important Chinese operators in the field of creation and distribution of events and every kind of shows, both Chinese and international, with thousands of realisations and an audience etimated in more than 10 million each years, and the China Cultural International Tours Inc (CCITI), a large intrenational tour operator in the cultural field. The Italian-Chinese exhibition “Painting the Present”, in the splendid location of the Certosa di Capri, was the first outcome of the agreement, followed, few months later, by “Cultural Context”, fully Chinese, at the Castiglia di Saluzzo (see Chapter 2).
8
2015, “Painting the Present” at the Certosa di San Giacomo in Capri
The exhibition banner greets the tourists, which disenbark by the thousands aech day at Marina Grande
IGAV returned to the Certosa di San Giacomo at Capri with “Painting the Present”, a group show dedicated to contemporary painting, bringin toghether 13 Italian and 13 Chinese artists, which continues IGAV’s consolidated commitment to organasing art-based cultural exchanges between the two Countries: the project starts from the long visual tradition shared by Italy and China to present an image of painting from traditional techniques to current technologies. Curators were Alessandro Demma and Fang Zhenning.
At left, IGAV chairman R. Garuzzo betwwen twogreat supporters of the exhibition: M. Utili, director of the Polo Museale della Campania, e G. De Martino, Capri town mayor; and, from Chinese side (on the right), Zhang Jianda, cultural attachè at the Rome Ambassy, and Liu Zhenlin, CAEC director.
The opening ceremony was held in the wonderful frame of the convent chloister, at the presence of Mariella Utili, director of the Polo Museale della Campania, who stand for the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, Angela Tecce, director of the Polo Museale Regionale della Calabria, Anna Maria Romano, director of the Certosa, Giovanni De Martino, town mayor of Capri, and many artists, some of which had created their works on site. From the guest party, there were: Zhang Jianda, cultural attaché at the Cinese embassy in Rome, Li Ying from the same office, and a sizable delegation, directly coming from Chine for the event, headed by Liu Zhenlin, department director of China Arts and Entertaiment Group (CAEG) and by the curator Fang Zennhing.
9
The public appreciated that 5 of the artists on show were presenta t the opening. The artists from the Italian side were: Andrea Aquilanti; Franko B; Fabrizio Cotognini; Alberto Di Fabio; Massimiliano Galliani; Paolo Gonzato; Corinna Gosmaro; Silvia Hell; Mariangela Levita; Marco Neri; Pierluigi Pusole; Alessandro Sarra; Giancarlo Scagnolari. For China: Cang Xin; Chen Haoyang; Chen Wenling; He Wenjue; Huang Ying; Li Di; Li Lei; Liu Jianfeng; Meng Luding; Tao Na & Cong Xiao; Zhang Yanzi; Zhang Zhaohui; Zhou Yangming.
The 5 Chinese artists partecipating at the opening cerimony (from the left: Tao Na e Cong Xiao, Liu Jianfeng, Zhang Zhaohui e Huang Ying), together with the curator Fang Zhenning (at center) An ancient small church, perhaps the private chapel of the convent prior, now hosts the laser technological work of Tao Na e Cong Xiao “Great Diamnonds”
Huang Ying poses in front of her work “Opus One
10
Patronage came from: Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo; Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione internazionale; Culture Ministry of the People Republic of China; Italian Embassy of the People Republic of China; Regione Campania; Città Metropolitana di Napoli; Città di Capri; Comune di Anacapri; Associazione per il Circuito dei Giovani Artisti Italiani (GAI); Istituto Confucio Università degli studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”.
Massimiliano Galliani explains the meaning of his work “Le strade del tempo #3” (the time roads), which strongly enlarge the pigment cracks of La Gioconda
11