The Embassy of Italy in Turkey, the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul and AlbumArte
are proud to present
Anteprima/Preview#3
Flavio Favelli artist residency in Istanbul and solo show
Project by Cristina Cobianchi/AlbumArte Rome
Curated by Vittorio Urbani
Anteprima/Preview#3 FLAVIO FAVELLI, Istanbul April / May / June 2014
The artist invited for the Residency of the third edition of the Anteprima/Preview cycle, Anteprima#3, in Palazzo Venezia, domicile in Istanbul of the Ambassador of Italy in Turkey, is Flavio Favelli (1967).
Florence-born artist Flavio Favelli, Bolognese by adoption, has developed his artistic practice from an intimate and very personal concept of time and space. By assembling gates, benches, doors, railings, balconies, chairs, tables, beds, mirrors, carpets and chandeliers the artist creates works of functional appearance that transform the atmosphere of the places that contain them while charging them with emotions. His installations focus on the aesthetic and poetic value of everyday objects that surround us. His work is a continuous attempt at reworking his own sense of disorientation. The mosaic of mirrors in an ancient frame, instead of reflecting, fragments the mirror image, and seems to register the arbitrary nature of our relationship with the world through this bizarre synthesis.
Anteprima/Preview #3 is curated by Vittorio Urbani, an independent curator, based in Venice, who has been organizing other contemporary exhibitions in Istanbul and the national official participations of Turkey and many countries of the Middle East in the Venice Art Biennale. He has a special interest in artistic projects concerning cultural exchanges with Turkey and Italy.
The residency period of Flavio Favell in Istanbul, will start in April and the solo exhibition of the resident artist is scheduled from May 16th until June 14th 2014 at the Main Room of GALATA RUM OKULU (GALATA GREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL), one of locations of 13 Istanbul Biennial (2013).
During the residency the artist will be held :
– May 8th h 6.00 pm: Bilgi University Ma in Cultural Management presents in the cycle “Thursday Talks at Studio X” : Flavio Favelli in residency
– A talk during the month of April to Academy / Faculty of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts
– Saturday May 17th at 17 pm a Conversation with the artist at the Theatre Casa d’Italia at the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul with art critic Cristiana Perrella, who will work to catalog, and curator Vittorio Urbani
Anteprima/Preview #3 residency and Anteprima/Preview #3 Flavio Favelli solo show are produced by Embassy of Italy in Turkey, Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul and AlbumArte.
A text by the artist about his residency in Istanbul for Anteprima#3
“I have been in Turkey and Istanbul for the first time in the middle 80es. Nobody in Italy at that time was informed about Middle East and above all about Islam. At the Feltrinelli bookshop in Bologna the Kuran was almost impossible to find, the only two books I could find were: Gli Arabi by Francesco Gabrieli and Islam by Alessando Bausani. Before the First Gulf War of 1990 in Italy Islam was unknown. My mother once made me tour Cappadocia with a group of her friends. They were interested in classic Greco/Roman antiquities. Byzanthyum, Saint Sophia, Ephesus … nobody considered the modern history of the country we were visiting. To my mother, interested in archeology, Turkey meant Hittites or, at most, the invaders of Southern Italy coasts. After that trip I became interested in Islamic countries and enrolled myself at Oriental History at University. A few weeks ago in Istanbul during the Biennial an Italian art critic reported that a Turkish artist friend of him was not painting anymore since a few months. What I could do? Which kind of art can be realized now in Turkey? Recent facts at Taksim square and at Gezi park are so powerful as to influence works and art by many Turkish, but also by Western artists. Over the last years in Italy art with a socio-politic background and content has many followers; festivals and shows on Street Art are multiplicating. A globalization process, full of tensions and contradictions, is more and more influencing the art field. I have always considered my art as personal and private, but nobody can live in an Ivory Tower. Under these thoughts and within this frame, I am getting ready to leave to Istanbul.”
(Flavio Favelli)
Flavio Favelli
Born in Florence in 1967. Lives and work in Savigno (Bo), Italy. He has carried out projects in Italy and abroad (Villa delle Rose Bologna, 1995 and 2001, Palazzo delle Papesse Siena 2000, Museo della Permamente, Milan 2002, Fondazione Sandretto Turin, 2002, in 2003 he took part in the 50° Venice Biennale (Clandestini) and Museo Pecci, Prato, 2005.
After has exhibited in important public and private spaces in Italy and abroad, such as SALES gallery, Rome in 2010 and 2013, Fondazione Sandretto in Turin and Maison Rouge in Paris, 2007, in IIC in Los Angeles in 2004, Maze Gallery, Turin, 2003 and two important exhibitions: Italics (Palazzo Grassi Venice and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago 2009) and Spazio (Museo Maxxi, Rome 2010).
He has created two installations that are functioning bars at the MAMBO in Bologna and the MARCA in Catanzaro and two permanet public spaces Vestibolo was set in the foyer of the ANAS building in Venice and in 2008 Sala d’Attesa a place for funeral ceremony at Certosa of Bologna. In 2009 ha was the artist chosen for Acrobazie a Unicredit Project at the Centro Fatebenefratelli – San Colombano al Lambro Milan.
In 2010 was in residence at the American Academy in Rome for the Italian Fellowship.
In 2012 he is invited at the 11th Havana Biennial in Cuba and at Castello di Rivoli Turin for a group show “History I Never Lived Through”.
In 2013 at the 55° Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione Italia.
Many of his works are in private and public collections in Italy and abroad such as
Galleria d’Arte Moderna and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Fondazione Furla in Bologna, La Maison Rouge Fondation Antoine De Galbert in Paris, Civiche Raccolte d’Arte in Milan, MACRO, Nomas Foundation and MAXXI in Rome , Anita Zabludowicz Collection in London and Elgiz Collection in Istanbul.
Vittorio Urbani (born in Ferrara, Italy, in 1954) is an independent curator, based in Venice, Italy, who has been organizing contemporary exhibitions and curating art books and catalogues since 1993 as director of the non-profit organization “Nuova Icona – associazione culturale per le arti” based in Venice, Italy, and at international venues. He has been invited as visiting curator to Vancouver (1999), Istanbul (in 2000 and several other times) and Baku, Cardiff and Rotterdam in 2004, Helsinki, Tbilisi and Yerevan in 2007, and Zagreb in 2009. He has been the Selector for the art prize “Perspectives” at Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast, 2004. He has been also invited as co-selector for the “Kyoto Prize” on 2006 and 2009. He has been invited to select the Italian participation (Elisabetta Benassi, Fabio Mauri, Antonio Riello, Paolo Ravalico Scerri) in the Second Quadrilateral Biennial, Rijeka, Croatia, 2007, the Italian participation (Flavio Favelli) in the Biennial of Caucasus “Art Caucasus”, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2007 and again the Italian participation in Sinopale, 1st and 3rd Biennial of Sinop (Turkey) with Antonio Riello and Marc Rees in 2006 and Daniele Pezzi in 2010 He has been member of IKT (International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art).
Nuova Icona is dedicated to the realization of projects by contemporary visual artists. Under Urbani’s artistic direction, Nuova Icona has held about 200 shows in Italy and abroad, organized symposia and seminars and published more than 100 catalogues.
Since 1995 Nuova Icona has organized for 5 editions the national official participations of Ireland in the Venice Art Biennale. It has also collaborated as manager to the national official participations of Wales (2001, 2003, 2007, 2009), Turkey (2001, 2003 and 2005), Scotland (2003), USA (2003), India (collateral exhibition in 2005), Finland (2005), Bulgaria (2008), Azerbaijan (2007, 2009, 2011), Lebanon (2007), Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, 2009), Palestine (2009), Iraq (2011 and 2013).
The association has a special interest in artistic projects concerning cultural exchanges with Turkey and the Middle East. (www.nuovaicona.org)
Cristina Cobianchi Born in Venice, she currently lives and works in Rome.
She has supervised contemporary art projects in Italy and abroad and has collaborated with institutions, such as several Italian Institute of Culture, public museums, i. e. MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Arts, and private exhibition centers, like Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, besides working with cultural associations and non-profit organizations: Academia di San Luca, Accademia di Romania in Rome, Auditorium Conciliazione, in Rome, just to mention a few.
Her project Anteprima/Preview, which includes artist residences in Italy and abroad, started in 2011, continues its program in various locations.
She has been president of AlbumArte since 2004.
AlbumArte is a non-profit cultural association active in Italy and abroad, based in Rome, committed to the promotion of contemporary artistic research, to its development and diffusion, focusing its attention on supporting and producing young Italian as well as foreign talents.
AlbumArte has enabled collaborations with public institutions such as the Museum MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, the Institute of Italian Culture in Istanbul, and the Embassy of Italy in Turkey.
It has carried out projects in numerous private and public locations, among others, at the Accademia di San Luca, at the Columbus Center in Toronto, at the Accademia di Romania in Rome, at the Museo Civico in Viterbo, at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, at the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome, at the Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art in Istanbul and at the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul.
Various artists have worked with AlbumArte, most recently: Giovanni Ozzola, Rä Di Martino, Margherita Morgantin, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Suat Ö?üt, Ferhat Özgür, Neriman Polat, Maria Adele Del Vecchio, Margherita Moscardini, Elisabetta Benassi, Anna Franceschini, Marinella Senatore, Pietro Mele, Giulio Squillacciotti and Adrian Paci.
Among the curators who have collaborated with AlbumArte: Beral Madra, Elena Forin, Gabi Scardi and Maria Rosa Sossai, who is the Artistic Director of AlbumArte, just to mention a few.
Past editions of Anteprima
Anteprima/Preview was born in Istanbul in 2011, with a video screening comparing the footage of three Turkish and three Italian artists (Rä Di Martino, Margherita Morgantin, Sabrina Mezzaqui con Suat Ö?üt, Ferhat Özgür, Neriman Polat) curated by Beral Madra and by Maria Rosa Sossai, promoted by the Embassy of Italy in Turkey, by the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul and by AlbumArte.
Anteprima/Preview#2 continues with three projects in September 2013, as parallel events to the 13th Istanbul Biennial of Contemporary Art, promoted by the Embassy of Italy, by the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul and by AlbumArte: Margherita Moscardini’s solo exhibition
Istanbul City Hills – On the Natural History of Dispersion and States of Aggregation (1st edition of Anteprima/Preview cycle of residencies), five days of screening of the video Il mondo è già filmato. Si tratta ora di trasformarlo – The world has already been filmed. Now it’s all about transforming it by Elisabetta Benassi, Anna Franceschini, Pietro Mele, Marinella Senatore and Giulio Squillacciotti at Casa d’Italia Theatre (all the program curated by Maria Rosa Sossai) and the Italian and Turkish premiere of the latest video by Italo-albanian artist Adrian Paci – The Column ( 2013), curated by Gabi Scardi, a single screening followed by an in-depth talk with the artist, Beral Madra, Gabi Scardi and Maria Rosa Sossai.
Margherita Moscardini’s installation Istanbul City Hills – Natural History of Dispersion and States of Aggregation was acquired by MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Arts for its permanent collection.
Info and press release of the first and the second editions of Anteprima : www.albumarte.org
Anteprima/preview #3 Flavio Favelli artist residency in Istanbul and solo show
Palazzo Venezia Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Istanbul
Anteprima#3/ Flavio Favelli solo exhibition, GALATA RUM OKULU/GALATA GREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL Istanbul May 16th / June 14th 2014
Opening solo show: FridayMay 16th h 6.30 pm
Kemeralt? Caddesi No:25, Galata,Beyo?lu/ ?stanbul
Project by Cristina Cobianchi /AlbumArte Rome
Curated by Vittorio Urbani
Produced by the Embassy of Italy in Turkey, by the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul, and by AlbumArte. Info: AlbumArte info@albumarte.org
20x6x6 cm (2012), foto Dario Lasagni, courtesy the artist.