Tra il sublime e l'idiota. L'umorismo nell'arte contemporanea
from 21 July 2011 to 02 October 2011
Tolentino (MC)
Tra il sublime e l'idiota. L'umorismo nell'arte contemporanea
On Thursday 21 July, to mark its 50th anniversary, the Tolentino International Humour Biennale will open the exhibition *Between the Sublime and the Idiotic: Humour in Contemporary Italian Art*.
A new “Biennale” challenge for curator Luca Beatrice, who has taken an unconventional approach in selecting the works of 28 artists who, throughout their careers, have skilfully used the language of irony to critically engage with reality. At times amplifying its tragicomic aspects, at others becoming a voice of social critique and offering a bitter smile, and at still others debunking its myths and giving the public the chance to laugh at them.
Videos, installations, sculptures, drawings and paintings interact with one another and with the 18th-century rooms of Palazzo Parisani Bezzi, which house them amidst frescoes, tapestries, paintings, furniture and period furnishings, giving rise to an original exhibition layout, perfectly in keeping with the curatorial spirit.
At a time in history when reality often takes on grotesque contours, ‘all we can do is laugh’, one might say, paraphrasing the famous film; even contemporary art decides not to take itself too seriously and to ‘entertain while having fun’. In response to those who consider it a world reserved for a narrow elite of serious intellectuals, BETWEEN THE SUBLIME AND THE IDIOT offers an interpretation through the medium of irony, demonstrating how it is possible to appreciate and enjoy it.
This is the game proposed to the vast international audience visiting the Tolentino Humour Biennale.
On display are hybridisations of languages and media, metaphors, symbols, allegories and icons imbued with a particular brand of humour, adopting an attitude that is at once derisive and provocative, sometimes ingenuous and naïve, at other times more critical, paradoxical and conceptual.
Thus, for example, Alex Pinna’s sculpture Fucked Bird offers an unexpected ending to the endless chase between Wile E. Coyote and Beep Beep by crushing the latter under an anvil. Francesco de Molfetta makes the bat superhero put on weight, transforming him into Fatman. Sandro Chia reinterprets classical mythology by painting a shameless swan harassing Leda (Leda and the Swan). Lorenzo Scotto di Luzio’s installation features a chicken being massaged to the relentless rhythm of the phrases heard at exhibition openings: “Great exhibition, congratulations, etc.”
One room is entirely dedicated to Aldo Mondino, one of the Italian artists who has best used irony to create an original art, rich in historical references and contemporary provocations. In particular, works from his ‘playful phase’ will be on display. Among others, Boccioni’s Mamma sculpture and the Jugend Stilo chandelier.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring a critical essay by Luca Beatrice, published by Silvana Editoriale.
THE ARTISTS
GABRIELE ARRUZZO
BERTOZZI&CASONI
NICOLA BOLLA
ANGELO BUCARELLI
SERGIO CASCAVILLA
SANDRO CHIA
VANNI CUOGHI
FRANCESCO DE MOLFETTA
PASQUALE DI DONATO
FAUSTO GILBERTI
ROBERT GLIGOROV
THORSTEN KIRCHHOFF
LOREDANA LONGO
Domenico Mangano
PAOLO MAIONE
PLINIO MARTELLI
ALDO MONDINO
GIANNI MOTTI
LUIGI ONTANI
LAURINA PAPERINA
LUANA PERILLI
GABRIELE PICCO
ALEX PINNA
LEONARDO PIVI
MAYA QUATTROPANI
LORENZO SCOTTO DI LUZIO
GIUSEPPE STAMPONE
GIUSEPPE VENEZIANO
THE INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF HUMOUR
The Tolentino International Biennial of Humour, under the artistic direction of Andrea Gualandri, has seen the participation in its past editions – since the first, conceived and curated by Luigi Mari in 1961 – of artists of international renown: Jean Michel Folon, Nehar Tublek, Adolf Born, Aleksandar Klas, Roger Testu “Tetsu”, Richard Keller, Guillermo Mordillo, alongside the Italians Amerigo Bartoli, Giuseppe Novello, Mino Maccari, Cesare Zavattini, Enrico De Seta, Marcello Marchesi, Giorgio Cavallo, Remo Brindisi, Giorgio Forattini, Massimo Bucchi, Francesco Tullio Altan, Nino Za, Federico Fellini, to name but a few – whose works form the substantial collection housed in the museum of this town in the Marche region.
For the 26th edition, the theme ‘The Art of the Twentieth Century’ has been chosen. The success of the event is confirmed once again this year by the numerous works that have arrived in Tolentino from all over the world.
Tra il sublime e l'idiota. L'umorismo nell'arte contemporanea
Jugen stilo, (s.d.)
filo di ferro e penne BIC
∅ 120 cm
Opere correlate
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