The Embassy of Italy in Turkey, the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul, Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities Arts and Publishing, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Turkey and AlbumArte
are proud to present
FLAVIO FAVELLI | Grape Juice
A solo exhibition at Galata Rum Okulu (the Galata Greek School), Istanbul
April 14th – June 14th 2014
Opening reception May 16, 2014 at 6.30 pm
Conceived by Cristina Cobianchi | AlbumArte, Rome
Curated by Vittorio Urbani
Flavio Favelli (born Florence, 1967) is the Italian artist-in-residence for the third edition of the Anteprima event promoted by the AlbumArte , which is due to be held at Palazzo Venezia, the residence in Istanbul of the Ambassador of Italy in Turkey.
During his six weeks of residency in Istanbul the artist will realize a series of works for his solo show, entitled Grape Juice, that will be held from May 17th until June 14th 2014 in the Main Hall of the Galata Rum Okulu (the Galata Greek Primary School), one of the most important exhibition sites of the 13th Istanbul Biennial (2013).
As the curator Vittorio Urbani points out: “the point of an exhibition based on an artist’s residency is that of testing the artist’s capacity to react to a different environment. This capacity must also consist of a certain speed because there is so little time available between the initial emotion of his inspiration and the concrete realization of his work. In Istanbul Flavio Favelli will be responding to a society that has been examining its attitudes towards the concept of Modernity for the last two centuries, and whose international “success” has recently been shadowed by political difficulties and social unrest “.
Flavio Favelli was born in Florence artist, but he is Bolognese by adoption. He has developed his artistic practice on the basis of an intimate and very personal concept of time and space. By assembling various objects such as gates, benches, doors, railings, balconies, chairs, tables, beds, mirrors, carpets and chandeliers, the artist creates works that appear to be functional and that transform the atmosphere of the settings where they are placed while charging them with emotions.
The curator Vittorio Urbani writes: “Artistic practice may vary enormously nowadays, but it basically concerns the most diverse and often bizarre media, within the rather flat panorama of a homogeneous “post avant-garde” conformism. Instead, Favelli’s work clearly establishes a narrative which connects with visual coherence and gives the colour of emotions to the objects he collects and then reassembles. New meanings are added to objects that were formerly merely functional, and these meanings act as a voice behind the scene, which is added to their original significance”.
Flavio Favelli’s installations focus on the aesthetic and poetic value of the everyday objects that surround us. His work is a continuous attempt to re-elaborate his feelings of disorientation. For example, the mosaic of mirrors in an antique frame breaks up the reflected image, and this bizarre synthesis thus seems to express the arbitrary and fragmented nature of our relationship with the world.
The curator also observes: “Interestingly Favelli often chooses functional, middle class (and not luxurious) decorative items and furniture that have a certain pretension, but that are nevertheless cheap or affordable. These kinds of furnishings have a strong role of self representation for the Italian middle class which also the artist’s family belongs to. There is a small chandelier from a living room or a chest of drawers from the bedroom of a married couple who are struggling to keep up a decorous appearance and save face on a meagre salary. But the chandelier shines brightly nevertheless and the chest of drawers has interesting handmade carvings and inlays crafted by a provincial carpenter. Everything in Flavio Favelli’s work resonates with these contrasts: high and low, good quality and cheapness. But the emotions of the lives of those who originally used these objects are represented with sincerity”.
Flavio Favelli has already held two exhibitions in Istanbul curated by Vittorio Urbani, at the Maçka Modern Art Gallery and the Elgiz Museum. Grape Juice will be his first solo exhibition in Istanbul.
The programme of Anteprima#3 (a project by AlbumArte) for the residency and exhibition of Flavio Favelli will include two meetings open to the public:
– May 8th at 7.00 pm: The Bilgi University (Ma in Cultural Management) in the cycle “Thursday Talks at Studio X” presents the talk (in English): Istanbul according to Flavio Favelli. An artist-in-residence Studio-X IstanbulMeclis-i Mebusan 35A 34433, Salipazari, Istanbul, (Mobile +90 532 176 3227).
– Saturday May 17th at 5.00 pm: The art critics Cristiana Perrella and Paola Ugolini, Anna Mattirolo Director of MAXXI National Museum of Contemporary Art and the curator Vittorio Urbani present A Conversation with Flavio Favelli at the theatre of the Casa d’Italia Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul (Meşrutiyet Caddesi, no. 75, Tepebaşı, Beyolu) with a simultaneous Italian/Turkish translation.
The catalogue of the exhibition Grape Juice, written by Cristina Cobianchi, Cristiana Perrella and Vittorio Urbani, will be produced by Visione Future.
AlbumArte thanks the Studio SALES gallery of Norberto Ruggeri, in Rome.
The exhibition is part of Anteprima#3 – involving Flavio Favelli as artist-in-residence from April 12th to May 25th 2014 at Palazzo Venezia/ Venedik Saray, the residence in Istanbul of the Ambassador of Italy in Turkey (Beyoğlu, Istanbul). An event realized by the Embassy of Italy in Turkey, the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul, Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities Arts and Publishing, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Turkey and AlbumArte.
Info in Turkey: Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul, info.iicistanbul@esteri.it
Press office in Turkey: Anatolia Group, armagan.akcora@hotmail.com.
Press office in Italy: Sara Zolla, info@lettersefutuna.com (+39)3468457982
Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities, Arts and Publishing for many decades has acted with the aim of enriching the culture and the vitality of art in the country as well as implementing various high quality art projects, which are available free of charge to everybody. The publishing arm, Yapı Kredi Publications(YKY) is the largest publisher in Turkey. It aims to offer itsreaders a first-rate selection of works of Turkish and international scene. Poetry, philosophy, literature, art, history and children’s books, as its main lines ofproduction, Yapı Kredi Publications covers a wide field of activities and a unique position in the publications world. YKY fills a large gap in thereaders’ market by publishing periodicals, Sanat Dünyamız, Cogito and Kitap-lık, which deal with art,philosophy and literature. All through the year the various locations of the Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre house over 100 events and exhibitions on archeology, theatre, literature, photography and art history
Vittorio Urbani was born in Ferrara (Italy), and he now lives and works in Venice. He has organized contemporary art exhibitions in Istanbul and contributed to the organization of the official participation of Turkey and various Middle Eastern countries at the Venice Art Biennial. Since 1993 he has been director of the non-profit cultural association for the arts based in Venice Nuova Icona, with which he has organized and curated various exhibitions in Italy and abroad. He is particularly interested in developing artistic projects and cultural exchanges with Turkey and the countries of the Middle East. (www.nuovaicona.org).
Visioni Future was founded in 2009 in Potenza (Italy) with the aim of supporting young artists to develop their careers and to encourage the interest of the wider public in contemporary art, by organizing exhibitions and educational programs combined with information services regarding the visual arts. Visioni Future particularly facilitates the debut of young Italian artists by making them known in the international contemporary art world, encouraging them to travel and helping them to raise funds. (info@visionifuture.org).