Milan Art Week exploded with ITALIA 70, a massive public art project showcasing 70 Italian artists across the entire city. The Nicola Trussardi Foundation, a champion of artistic expression, unveiled ITALIA 70. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, this was a different display. Imagine 70 contemporary artists, each a maestro in their own right, weaving their visions into a tapestry that adorned the very streets of Milan.
Twenty years ago, a similar spark ignited. I NUOVI MOSTRI, a pioneering project by the Foundation, scattered posters by young Italian artists, their voices echoing through the city’s veins. Now, that spirit returned, amplified. Seventy voices, a chorus of established masters and rising stars, ready to repaint Milan. The Foundation invited each artist to contribute an unpublished image, a secret whispered for the city to hear. These whispers transformed into hundreds of posters, a vibrant sea that flooded the streets and squares. A treasure hunt unfolded from the Monumental Cemetery’s serenity to the Historic Centre’s bustling heart, from the modern marvel of City Life to the echoes of Porta Romana. Milan, a canvas waiting to be unveiled.
Each poster is a piece of the puzzle, guiding curious eyes on a journey of discovery. It was a metropolitan museum reborn, its walls the very fabric of the city, its exhibits hidden amongst everyday life. Imagine strolling down a sun-drenched street, a familiar corner transformed by a burst of colour. A child points, eyes wide with wonder, at a fantastical creature peeking from a shop window. A couple lingers, their conversation punctuated by a thought-provoking image. This was ITALIA 70, a symphony of art for all, reflecting the desires and anxieties courting Italy’s veins today. Once a stage for commerce and daily life, the city became a stage for dreams. ITALIA 70 is a fleeting masterpiece, a testament to the power of art to transform the ordinary into extraordinary.
Shafei Xia
Born in 1989 amidst the whispers of ancient China, Shafei Xia now paints her realities in vibrant hues from her studio in Bologna, Italy. Her art delves into the raw undercurrents of our modern existence, where vulnerability and trepidation dance with hidden desires. The tiger, a symbol of untamed power and an active force in Chinese alchemy, prowls through her art. Yet, with each iteration, this magnificent creature sheds fierceness, morphing into a playful companion. This may signify a subtle shift in the tides of power, hinting at a world where strength finds a new expression.
Francesco Vezzoli
Hailing from Brescia, Italy, Francesco Vezzoli (born 1971) is a powerhouse in the contemporary art world. His work isn’t just art; it’s a captivating commentary on our times. Imagine a tapestry woven with video installations, intricate embroidery, thought-provoking photographs, and live performances. He’s not afraid to experiment; recently, he’s even been delving into classical sculpture! Vezzoli’s artistic genius has been recognized on the global stage. His work has been selected four times for the prestigious Venice Biennale, and he’s also been featured in other major exhibitions worldwide, like the Whitney Biennial and the Biennale in Sao Paulo.
Alessandro Sciarroni
Alessandro Sciarroni, an Italian artist deeply entrenched in Performing Arts, boasts an extensive background in visual arts and theatre exploration. His portfolio graces contemporary dance and theatre festivals, museums, and art galleries while transcending conventional settings to inhabit unconventional spaces. In 2019, Sciarroni received the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance at the Venice Biennial, a testament to his profound impact on the field.
Paola Pivi
From the performance One Cup of Cappuccino then I Go, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, 2007/Courtesy of the artist and Massimo De Carlo. Photo by Hugo Glendinning
Italian artist Paola Pivi (born 1971) creates surprising and thought-provoking art using all sorts of things, from aeroplanes to polar bears and even pearls. She twists familiar objects, making you see them in a new way.
Giuseppe Penone
Latex skin imprint of one half of the face placed on the other half by Giuseppe Penone- Milan Art Week
Giuseppe Penone was born in Garessio, Italy, in 1947. He creates art in Turin and Paris. Penone’s art shows how everything in the world is connected. He uses natural materials like wood, metal, and wax and focuses on how they look, feel, and smell.
Giulio Paolini
Photograph on emulsified canvas/Milan Art Week
Giulio Paolini was born in 1940 in Genoa, Italy. He currently lives and works in Turin. In the mid-1960s, he became associated with the Arte Povera movement. Comprising an almost unchanging variation of materials (photographs, plaster casts, drawing paper, Plexiglas, and objects), his work forms a dialogue with Time and History.
Petrit Halilaj
Steel, fabric, feathers, leather, original Kosovo wood, silicone, paint, synthetic fibres/ Milan Art Week
Petrit Halilaj, born in 1986 in Kostërrc, Kosovo, understands exhibitions as a way to alter the course of personal and collective histories, creating complex worlds that claim space for freedom, desire, intimacy, and identity. His work is deeply connected to the recent history of his native country, Kosovo and the consequences of cultural and political tensions in the region, which he often takes as a starting point for igniting countercurrent poetics for the future.
Patrizio di Massimo
Born in Jesi, Italy, in 1983, Patrizio di Massimo lives and works in London, where he graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art. Di Massimo is one of today’s most respected figurative painters in the contemporary art scene. His paintings are mysterious and portray mostly human beings in situations of violence, intimacy and abundance. The artistic practice of di Massimo is filled with references to art history, popular culture and found imagery.
Marina Apollonio
Marina Apollonio was born in Trieste, Italy, on November 12, 1940. From 1975 onward, Marina Apollonio’s work was based on the orthogonal interaction of vertical and horizontal coloured lines on a black background. These pieces were shown in 1979, along with others, in a solo exhibition at the Galleria Arte Struktura in Milan. The artist worked extensively in Italy and abroad until the 1980s when she decided to devote herself entirely to study and research. Apollonio currently lives in Padua.
Giulia Andreani Giulia
Andreani is an Italian painter born in Venice in 1985 and now living in Paris. Her work is based on extensive research of archival images and personal photographs, which inspire her paintings. Andreani is particularly interested in significant historical periods of the twentieth century, with the cases of Mussolini-era Italy and the Cold War in point. Her portraits, which feature predominantly feminine subjects, tend to be rendered in Payne’s Grey.
Jain Syriac Babu is a Kerala-born, Italy-based theatre artist and art enthusiast.
