The Bally Cultural Foundation In the Bally universe, luxury is a lifestyle, a tangible concept that coherently translates into the quality and details that our craftsmen put into every Bally product created. A philosophy of production, expression of a true corporate culture over the years, has led Bally to make products comparable to real artistic expression. It is therefore to be consistent with their artistic values, in 2006 Bally decided to bind to the Ticino, his chosen land, investing in culture and creative talents of Ticino, which will have the opportunity to be supported and submitted in cantonal and international level.In order to join his own history and tradition in the visual arts to a stronger presence in the territory of Ticino as Company of this territory, Bally has therefore decided to undertake an important task of social communication.
The Bally Cultural Foundation’s sole objective is to try and highlight real talent resident in the Italian part of Switzerland that will have the opportunity to be promoted and supported internationally by one of the world’s most famous brand in the luxury sector. The Bally company has chosen to make its “Swissness” a source of strength for its identity. The Bally Cultural Foundation’s objectives are as follows: • Enhancing brand visibility • Improving relations with public bodies • Surprising its target, creating loyalty and make its audience feel it is playing an active role • Attracting media attention to create maximum resonance
Nelly Rodriguez Bally Artist 2008
“Nelly Rodriguez leaves an impact with her simple but attentive way of observing different ways of life, a view that expresses an empathetic sensibility. Her photographs seem to portray situations from the inside, as if she were sharing the life and feelings of her subjects in an expressive dialogue, valorised by the titles of her works. Few words or concise phrases become essential captions that help us appreciate stories told in photo frames that often recall film clips. Nelly shows an ability to evoke emotions that is uncommon for one so young. Her age allows her to transform lack of experience into curiosity and surprise, surpassing stylistic limits through an expressive approach that promises to produce much in her future as an artist.�
Born in 1981, Nelly won the favour of the Selection Committee for the originality and freshness of her works, for her ability to capture those distinctive elements of everyday life that make the existence of each person a unique, unrepeatable story, and also for her youth which, in addition to being an asset for further advancement in her craft, will allow her to obtain the most from this opportunity that Members of the Bally Cultural Foundation decided to offer her in 2008. Throughout 2008, Bally sustained the work of Nelly Rodriguez, presenting her and her works in some of the global capitals of culture and fashion during exclusive events. In order to contribute economically, Bally also purchased one of her works to add to the Bally Cultural Foundation collection.
Nelly Rodriguez Bally Artist 2008
Gabriele Genini Bally Artist 2009
“Gabriele Genini’s works are really special travel notes expressed as a non-coded universal model, sketches that spark the imagination and give substance to dreams. Gabriele takes us on a journey through the details of a “different” world, with its own rhythm and timing. He uses his notebook to show us the beauty of a world on the brink of disaster, and helps us experience rare moments spared from the acceleration of our own society. His sensitivity allows him to achieve a difficult artistic comparison between past and present from which emerges a type of timeless art.” Born in Osogna on 06.01.1981, Gabriele Genini is an artist who loves to re-elaborate the exotic suggestions that he perceives during his travels with new styles. Here, the word “travels” means desire
and “discovery” of new horizons, countries, people and cultures that may also be artistically unknown. As a modern explorer, he embodies the persona of the great traveller... a passion that he shares with many great artists of the past who created two fundamental artistic movements for European art during the 1800s and 1900s: Orientalism and Primitivism. European art during the 1800s and 1900s: Orientalism and Primitivism. Also, in addition to giving Gabriele Genini a monetary award, the Bally Cultural Foundation will purchase one of his works for its collection. The Foundation will also sustain his work by organising some expositions and allowing him to continue to turn his travels into snapshots of his personal way of seeing the world.
Gabriele Genini Bally Artist 2009
Renato Tagli Bally Artist 2010
Artist of the landscape has changed over the years, his passion in an admirable form of “Land Art”, a creative context of conceptual art that acts directly on the landscape, changing its appearance by acting in harmony with natural and the environment. He creates looking to the future because the time, usually a traditional enemy of art, in his works is a good player, and planned from the beginning of art project. Programmed by the artist and entrusted to the vitality of natural agents, the transformation in the works of Renato Tagli is so inextricably linked to the concept of persistence.
Thanks to Renato Tagli, Bally Foundation has received from the City of Lugano, the possibility of creating a permanent installation at the Parco Ciani. Thanks to her creativity took shape on the first “garden of the elements”: a space completely inaccessible to the human and governed only by the animal and plant species. A truly sacred circle from high symbolic value in which the four elements: air, earth, fire and water, will merge to create a work in progress over time.
Renato Tagli Bally Artist 2010
Pascal Murer Bally Artist 2011
He likes to say of himself that, “Along my journey I leave traces of origins and visions - we could call it breathing”. Born in Altdorf, Uri on 16 May 1966, Pascal Murer dedicated his life to art at an early age. After training at the school of professional sculpture in Brienz (1983-1987) he moved to Austria, where he learnt bronze casting techniques. He attended the Salzburg Summer Academy (calcography, Adriena Simotová) and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1990 to 1995. He then embarked on an educational journey that took in Berlin, Paris, Budapest, New York and Tbilisi. In 2001 he moved to Locarno, where he founded the “vedo arte” (“I see art”) atelier. Drawing always lies at the basis of these creative processes, transformed and given physical form by materials like wood and bronze. Pascal combines their intense manual nature with his desire for essences and transcendence, creating
a metaphorical synthesis of the traditional and the cutting edge. The executive aspect of his work is therefore experienced as a privileged moment of verification, exchange and growth in the framework of the imponderable self-manifestation of artistic creation. With Murer, the constant oscillation between the figurative and non-figurative is translated through osmoses of functional thought into a reflection on time, on its immanence and activity within the work of art itself. Through his lines and signs, Murer reveals his unique ability to free himself - with respect - from the dominant expressive canons, enabling him to affirm the legitimacy of a an age-old art and that through “relentless removal” - stripping out superfluous material - offers no opportunity for rethinking. For Pascal Murer, nature is the foundation and at the same time driving force behind many of his sculptures.
Pascal Murer Bally Artist 2011
Nevercrew
Bally Artists 2012 Pablo Togni was born on 29.09.1979 in Bellinzona, and Christian Rebecchi was born on 20.12.1980 in Lugano. Both attended the Artistic High School, the C.S.I.A. of Lugano and then studied painting with the professor Nicola Salvatore at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, graduating in 2005. In 1996 they began working together under the name NEVERCREW, and for years their creations were described as “graffiti” because of the techniques they used (spray cans), the surface they preferred to work on (walls) and the fact that in the 1990s they did in fact begin with the idea of writing “graffiti”, while moving away from a purely hip-hop style. They eventually found a place in the wider, more interesting world of “street art”, where they felt more at home and where they discovered the opportunity for a more direct, all-encompassing communication. The basic concept behind NEVERCREW is to highlight
the relationship between the perceived form and the true essence, between the system and its parts, a direct relationship with society and reality. Rebecchi and Togni create a series of “symbols” (or “objects”) in a constant state of becoming, gathering ideas and concepts in the shape of images and which taken together can give life or simply visibility to the structures they use, their reality and their work. These images, then, become elements in themselves within their artistic process, and at the same time are explanations, subject and documentation of them. Starting from the dichotomy intrinsic in the idea of an artistic “duo”, they seek to highlight and at the same time unite the differences that appear in their work, and in the encounter -confrontation between the various personalities without replacing the work itself but rather providing it with new elements.
Nevercrew
Bally Artists 2012
Matteo Fieni Bally Artist 2013
Marco Matteo Fieni (born on February 3, 1976 in Mendrisio) is a Swiss photographer. He lives and works mainly between Lugano and Zürich. Fieni attended the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan from 1998 until 2001 where he immediately began to experience photography as artistic research acting against the mainstream business philosophy of the school. He ventured into conceptual photography, exposing in different “OFF” scenes such as “Argos Project” (Image festival, 2000, Vevey, CH) and La Fabbrica (Losone 2001-2003). After a period of study at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (20072010, USI) he took up his photographic discourse with “Ritratti Metropolitani” Ritratti Metropolitani started as a personal street photography project, which consisted in making portraits of passers-by who where willing to participate in the project throu-
gh a photographic dogma for build a philosophical message on human equality. In its progression it refers to people of different social, cultural and religious background who fancy to get together under the glance to which this project aspires. Alter the first year the research became increasingly focused on the relation between the portrayed individual and the personal setting in which they move, live and exist. With this method, the project becomes more and more interdisciplinary by crossovering anthropology, architecture and town planning. In 2012 Fieni has been awarded with a performance RM#26 in Italy (Premio Metrocubo 2012, Ancona, IT). He also analyzed the issues related to communication and identity by an editorial cinically titled “Good Morning, Lugano” receiving the Swiss Photo Award (ewz 2012, Zurich).
Matteo Fieni Bally Artist 2013
Activities 2008
Nelly Rodriguez Exhibition in Villa Saroli, Lugano Nelly Rodriguez Exhibition at Z端rich Kloten Airport Nelly Rodriguez journeys in China
2009 2010
Gabriele Genini Exhibition in Villa Saroli, Lugano Gabriele Genini Exhibition, Osogna
2011
Artists exhibition Bally Film Festival, Locarno
2012
Pascal Murer Exhibition at the Atelier Irene Weiss in Tremona Renato Tagli Terra-Terra opening at the Parco Ciani in Lugano Exhibition Bally Artist Film Festival, Locarno Exhibition Bally Artist at the Centro Ovale in Chiasso
2013
Pascal Murer Exhibition at the UBS Bank in Lugano Pascal Murer Exhibition at the Casa Rusca in Locarno
Gabriele Genini Journey to Japan Gabriele Genini exhibition at Chiostro Voltorre, Varese
Board of trustees The “Bally Foundation for Culture� includes among its members, from the world of Ticino culture, able to reveal a picture of skills, experience and integrity. Today the members of the Foundation are as follows: Stefano Sacchet GianLuca Serra Mihaela Smickoski
President Member Member
The Artistic Committee Ivo Soldini Sculptor Edo Bertoglio Photographer and director Caterina Carletti SUPSI Professor Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach Consultant in the fields of public relations, foundations and sponsoring Roberto Mazzantini Expert in communications
Edo Bertoglio Artistic committee
Edo Bertoglio was born in 1951 in Lugano (Switzerland). In the early seventies he moved to Paris where, in 1975, he graduated in film directing and editing at the “Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français”. After spending some months in London, in 1976 he moved to New York where he remained for fourteen years. Over the years he spent working in New York, from 1978 to 1984, with “Interview” by Andy Warhol and his images are published by major fashion magazines, music, art and costume. Produce photo books for Blondie, Madonna, Grace Jones and Tim Curry. Produce different covers for music publishers and in 1981 he shot his first feature film, “Downtown 81”, written by Glenn O ‘Brien and produced by Maripol a day dedicated to the then unknown
Jean Michel Basquiat. The film, after various vicissitudes, was completed in 1999 and was selected in 2000 at Cannes, in the section “Directors Fortnight”. In 2005 he completed his second feature film, titled Face Addict, in which, through the direct account of some prominent people (musicians, painters, actors, writers) met and photographed in the ’70s and ’80s in New York, proposes to restore the atmosphere of those years, to show the life path of each character and see what remains today of the artistic currents of the period and of the people who animated. Also in 2005 his shots dedicated to Jean Michel Basquiat, are exposed at the solo exhibition “Jean Michel Basquiat Show” at the Museum of Modern Art in Lugano in 2006 at the Milan Triennale.
Ivo Soldini
Artistic committee Soldini’s work fits into that genre of sculptural tradition that focuses attention on the depiction of human nature, especially the psychological study of modern human existence. In the first decade of its business experimented with different plastic Soldini figurative mode, the alternating nature trail (round torsos, classical compositions) and informal styles of the Expressionists (archaic hieratic, violent treatment of the surfaces). Among the possible initial references can be cited Marino Marini, Giacomo Manzu, Remo Rossi, but especially Alberto Giacometti. In the mid-eighties is revealed with greater efficiency the fundamental choice of the artist: the human figure made to consist in its interior through the incisiveness of the sign. Is gaining strength as the presence of explicit figurative physical Earth,
which shows the marks on their skin that shape the identity. Among those privileged stands the rigid body and elongated: a volume standing out obliquely in the existential space that threatens the balance and it scratches the plasticity (as in the various versions dell’Inclinato). In the past the emotional potential is imploded in body blocks enigmatic, evocative of the massive volumes of Fritz Wotruba. These shells however breathe textured inner tensions alive through the expressiveness of the surfaces, worn suffered from a ‘lift’. The angles, twists and expansions of the volumes are opposed to the monolithic solid vertical, meaning the one hand the instability that undermines the existential adventure and the other a push ethics of resistance.
Caterina Carletti Artistic committee
Caterina Carletti was born in 1953 and graduated in Modern Literature at the University of Milan, from 2002 he worked with the University of Applied Sciences of Italian Switzerland, as a marketing professor and researcher in projects on corporate social responsibility. She published the book “For a new dialogue between market and society� on the results of a study conducted for the Commission for Technology and Innovation of the Swiss Government. Since January 2007 she became artistic director of the Cloister of Voltorre (Va), a Benedictine cloister of 1200 converted, after renovation, into museum exhibition space. As part of this role, she takes care of the programm of art exhibitions, concerts and cultural events. Besides these activities, she organizes events such as conferences, seminars, laboratories, wor-
kshops and awards. Also relevant are her relations with the institutions, the media and government, in addition to relations with sponsors. She deals with the management and organization of training workshops for students of the Professional School for Tour Operators and students of art school, offering their support as guides in the exhibition spaces. She also keeps all the relationships with the world of art galleries and with the authors. To finalize the schedule this season, has set up a scientific committee which includes Paul Davis, one of the most famous American illustrators, Vincenzo Mollica, RAI journalist and curator of exhibitions, Jesus Moreno publisher, gallery owner and builder of many exhibits at the Prado in Madrid, Boris Tissot organizer of exhibitions dedicated to children at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach Artistic committee
Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach is a consultant in the fields of public relations, foundations and sponsoring. She has broad experience as a leader of cultural and social sponsoring projects, has contributed to the creation of large grantmaking foundations and is an advisor to CEOs, Presidents of the Board of international companies, governments as well as public administrations. Her lectureships in sponsoring and foundations at several universities and institutions in Switzerland , Germany and Italy are state of the art. She is a well known key note speaker, teacher and trainer in the communication industry. She was a member of the Cultural Commission of the city of Zug (Switzerland), and since 2001 has been an active member of the Jury for the “Maecenas Award” (Austria) dedicated to the promotion of cultural sponsoring. Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach is the author of major articles in the field of sponsorship, philanthropy and on the subject of
grant-making foundations (published by specialized periodicals in German, English, Italian and Arabic). She has edited the first complete Sponsorship Guide Book: Sponsoring – der Leitfaden für die Praxis, Paul Haupt, Bern- Stuttgart- Wien, 2011, fifth edition (in Italian: Sponsoring dalla A alla Z-Manuale operativo, Skira, Milan, 2009, second edition), as well as the first Guide Book for collaboration between the non-profit sector and the grant-making foundations: Stiftungen - der Leitfaden für Gesuchsteller, Huber Frauenfeld, StuttgartWien, 2011, second edition (in Italian: Lavorare con le fondazioni- Guida operativa, Franco Angeli, Milan, 2009, second edition). Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach is an active member of many national and international associations such as FERPI (Italian Federation of Public Relations), PR SUISSE (Swiss Association of Public Relations ASRP), ESBEuropäische Sponsoring Börse (ESB Event Sport Business), IG Sponsoring, GetDiversity, as well as proFonds-Dachverband gemeinnütziger Stiftungen in der Schweiz.
Roberto Mazzantini Artistic committee
Marketing consultant and communications, from 1981-1998, and grew up professionally in MAZZANTINI ASSOCIATES Ltd, the advertising agency founded by his father in 1965 in Milan, covering the years the functions of copywriters, production manager, junior account, account executive and general manager. Listed since 1988 in the capacity of member TPP Advertising Professionals and the Italian Association since 1992 the Special Order of Italian Journalists in quality of director of a number of informative magazines, since 1994 and owner of MAZZANTINI & ASSOCIATES SA, agency full-service com-
munications with headquarters in Lugano, a city where he lives since 1998. Bally chose Roberto Mazzantini in 2007 to develop a corporate social responsibility initiative. This in-depth analysis led to the creation of the Bally Cultural Foundation. Since the Foundation’s launch, Mazzantini has fulfilled the role of coordinator and head of PR. Together with a team of operators he manages the Internet site, media contacts, relations with artists and the committee, events organisation, exhibitions and taking part in important cultural events like the Locarno Film Festival.
www.fondazionebally.ch
www.fondazionebally.ch