Italian Genius Now. Home Sweet Home A project of Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci – Prato

Curated by Marco Bazzini

Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci is pleased to announce the project Italian Genius Now Home Sweet Home, promoted by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with a kind contribution or Toscana Promozione, that will be presented in Italian Pavillion on occasion of the Expo Shanghai 2010.

The exhibition Italian Genius Now Home Sweet Home although it remains sensible to the current topic of devastating environmental situation, has no intention to critically emphasize our unconscious behaviour towards our environment, it does not underline the ecological horrors that are destroying the balance between us and our surroundings. Art requests a different reaction and a different approach to the problem. It creates visions that inspire reflection and awarrness of mutual existence between environment and its inhabitants and their interaction. The most intimate relationship between the people and their invironment is the inhabitance. Cutting out from the environment a space, cultivate it, and make it our own, has always been a principal human need. The building activity is firmly connected to the local communities in terms of their costums and needs and to the territory in terms of the climate, landsacape and material offers. So the settlements are always a result of an interaction between humans and their surroundings. Observing the works of artists that research the topics of space, environment and architecture we are invited to imagine the diversity of development experience, new urbanistic discoveries and new approaches to building and designing a human habitat always keeping in mind the fragility of the equilibrium we have to mantain. These inovative styles that open view to different vital and working conditions are bound to propose and promote the sostainability in dvelopment and growth of numerous communities.

Selected artists

Superstudio, Supersuperficie/Vita , video, 1972 Founded in 1966 by a group of designers based in florence, italy, this group was composed by six members: Adolfo Nataline Cristiano Toraldo di Francia Roberto Magris Piero Frassinelli Alessandro Magris Alessandro Poli. In 1967, Natalini established three categories of future research: “architecture of the monument”; the “architecture of the image”; and “tecnomorphic architecture”. Many of their projects were originally published in the magazine Casabella, and ranged from fiction, to storyboard illustration, to photomontage. The Continuous Monument: An Architectural Model for Total Urbanization, 1969 Twelve Cautionary Tales for Christmas: Premonitions of the Mystical Rebirth of Urbanism.

Massimo Bartolini Born in 1962 in Cecina, where he lives and works.

Paolo Canevari Born in 1963 in Rome, where he lives and works.

Alice Cattaneo Born in 1976 in Milano, where lives and works.

Loris Cecchini Born in 1969 in Milan, he lives and works between Prato and Beijin.

Francesco De Grandi Born in Palarmo in 1968, lives and works in Milan.

Michael Fliri Born in Trentino/Alto Adige in 1978, lives and works in Trentino/Alto Adige.

Tancredi Mangano Boen in Lisieux in 1969, lives and works in Milan.

Gianni Pettena Born in Bolzano in 1940, lives and works in Florence.

Massimo Bartolini, Aiuole , stampa fotografica su alluminio, 2000

Paolo Canevari, Home Sweet Home, print on pvc, 2003-2010

Alice Cattaneo, Untitled, installation, 2010

Loris Cecchini, The painted distance , 2005

Francesco De Grandi, Capanni, oil on canvas, 2008

Michael Fliri, Image, image do what you want , video, 2006

Tancredi Mangano,Inabitannti05, dalla serie Inabitanti - 037 Milano Bovisa, ink jet print 2003-2005.

Gianni Pettena, Ice House II (ICE CUBE), colour photography 1972

Superstudio, Supersuperficie vita, video, 1972

Notes on artists

Massimo Bartolini Born in 1962. Lives and works in Cecina. Important personal exhibitions in 2008 Dialoghi con la città , curated by Laura Cherubini, MAXXI - Museo delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Roma, IT; Massimo Bartolini: Concert room with voices , D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY; Massimo Bartolini , Firth Street Gallery , Londra, GB; Organi , Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milano, IT. Important collective exhibitions in 2009 Fragile - Fields of Empathy , Musée d’Art Moderne, Saint-Etienne Métropole, Sint-Etienne, FR e Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte La Biennale di Venezia , Biennale di Venezia, Venezia, IT; nel 2008 Una stanza tutta per sé , curated by Marcella Beccaria, Castello di Rivoli, Rivoli (TO), IT.

Paolo Canevari (Roma, 1963) lives and works Rome and New York A selection of the most important exhibitions: XIII Quadriennale di Roma, Palazzo delle Esposizioni Roma,1999; Colosso, Galleria Christian Stein, Milano 2002; The Liverpool Biennial, 2004; Welcome to Oz , P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center New York, 2004; Paolo Canevari, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Contemporary Art Museum, Johannesburg, 2005; Black Stone , Galleria Christian Stein, Milano, 2005; Rubber Car , MART, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, 2006; Whitney Biennial Peace Tower Project, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2006; A Couple of Things I Have to Tell You , Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, 2006; Into me Out of Me , Kunst Werke institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, 2006. 52° Biennale di Venezia, 2007; Senso Unico, P.S.1 contemporary Art Center, New York; Continenti , Studio Stefania Miscetti, Roma 2007; Nothing from Nothing a cura di Danilo Eccher al Museo d'Arte Contemporanea (Macro) di Roma, 2007, Decalogo all’Istituto per la Grafica Calcografia Nazionale di Roma, 2008, Raw – War, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - New York, 2008. Suoi lavori sono presenti in collezioni private e pubbliche tra cui: Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci - Prato, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - New York, Foundation Louis Vuitton pour la Creation - Paris, Cisneros, Fontanals Art Foundation - Miami, Museo d’arte Contemporanea (Macro) - Roma, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Trento e Rovereto (Mart), Istituto per la Grafica Calcografia Nazionale - Roma, Johannesburg Art Gallery Contemporary Art Museum – Johannesburg, Perna Foundation - Capri.

Alice Cattaneo Born in Milan 1976, lives and works in Milan. Selected personal exhibitions in 2008; Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milano; MADRE - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, Napoli; nel 2007 Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Special Project, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Art Forum Berlin. Selected collective exhibitions 2009 Italics, Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution, 1968-2008, ca curated by F.Bonami; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Fragiles. Terres d'empathie, a cura di L.Hegyi; Musee d’Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne Metropole, Saint-Etienne, nel 2008 Italics, Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution, 1968-2008, a cura di F.BonamiPalazzo Grassi, Venice; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2009); Re-Contruction, 3rd Biennial of Young Artists, a cura di A.Barak, Bucharest; Soft Cell: Dinamiche nello Spazio in Italia, a cura di A.Bruciati, Galleria Comunale d'Arte Contemporanea Monfalcone, Monfalcone; XV Quadriennale di Roma, Roma; VIDEO.IT, a cura di F.Poli, F.Bernardelli, M.Gorni, S.Lacagnina, Accademia Albertina, Turin; Sporgersi Prego, Galerie Lange und Pult, Zurich, nel 2007 WAR, PEACE AND ECSTASY, videoscreening curated by C.Alemani, Artissima 14, Torino; Nessuna paura, Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato.

Loris Cecchini Bor in Milan in 1969, lives and works between Prato and Beejing. Selected exhibitions: 2009 Dotsandloops, Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato; Loris Cecchini, Costruzioni che scivolano e pensieri alla deriva, Photology, Milano; nel 2008 Loris Cecchini, Laure Genillard, London; nel 2006 Cloudless, P.S.1 MoMA, New York - Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France - Shanghai Duolun MoMA, Shanghai - Galleria Continua, Pechino.

Francesco De Grandi Born in Palermo in1968, lives and works in Milan. Selected personal exhibitions: in 2008 Il monte analogo, Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milano, a cura di A. Bruciati; Paesaggi, Palazzo Sant’Elia, Palermo, nel 2006 Personal Pantheon, Studio d’Arte Cannaviello, Milano. Selected group exhibitions Plenitudini, Galleria delle Logge e Pinacoteca di San Francesco, San Marino, a cura di A. ZanchettaContemplazioni. Bellezza, Verità e Tradizione del nuovo nella pittura italiana contemporanea, Castel Sismondo e Palazzo del Podestà, Rimini, a cura di A. Agazzani; Degli uomini selvaggi e d'altre forasticherie, Lab 610 XL, Loc. Servo di Sovramonte (BL), a cura di V. Siviero; Una forza del passato - HangART-7 Edition 13, Red Bull Hangar 7, Salzburg, Austria, a cura di L. Reddeker; I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now, Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milano, curated by L. Beatrice.

Michael Fliri Born in Trentino/Alto Adige in 1978, lives and works in Trentino/Alto Adige. Selected personal exhibitions of Michael Fliri are: 2008 Nice and nicely done, Goethe2, Bolzano per il Festival Transart; e nel 2007 Early one morning with time to waste, Galleria Enrico Fornello a cura di Marinella Paderni, Prato; Gravity, Eurac, Projectroom Museion, curated by Letizia Ragaglia, Bolzano. Selected group exhibitions 2009 Emerging talents, CCCStrozzina Firenze nel 2007 Albedo:a new perspective in italian moving images, XII International Media Biennale WRO 07, Wroclaw- Poland, curated by A. Bruciati; BellaVita, Barber Shop Gallery-Mario Ibarra, Los Angels, curated by Cristina Natalicchio and Denis Isaia; Forward Fendi, Palazzo Fendi, Roma curated by A. Bruciati; From & To, Kunsthaus Merano, a cura di Valerio Dehiò e Denis Isaia, in collaboration with Paul Kos; Hallucination, MASS (media arts in seoulsoul), Corea. Prizes won: l2006 City of Vienna prize, assegna Austrian Ministry of culture, nel 2008 the Museion prize.

Tancredi Mangano Born in Lisieux in 1969, lives and works in Milan. Selected personal exhibitions, Eden , Nepente Art Gallery, Milano, 2005; Il brivido immenso sul corpo della terra, (con Francesco Chieppa) Studio Artese, Milano, 2005; In superficie , Galleria Dryphoto, Prato, 2000; Epithélial , Galleria Dryphoto, Prato, 1998; Contact , Galleria Cons Arc, Chiasso, 1996. Selected group exhibitions: Ereditare il paesaggio , Spazio Officina, Chiasso, 2008; Ereditare il paesaggio , Museo del territorio Biellese, Biella, 2007; Ereditare il paesaggio , Ara Pacis, Roma, 2007 Ex Fabrica. Identità e mutamenti ai confini della metropoli , Sale Viscontee del Castello Sforzesco, Milano, 2006; Naturale. Opere dalla collezioni , Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Cinisello Balsamo, Milano, 2006; La Dolce Crisi. Fotografia contemporanea in Italia , Villa Manin, Centro d’Arte Contemporanea, Codroipo, Udine, 2006; Fragments of Contemporary Urban Life , City Hall Art Space e Istituto Italiano di Cultura, SanFrancisco, 2005; Innatura , X Biennale di Fotografia, Palazzo Bricherasio, Torino, 2003.

Gianni Pettena Born 1940. Lives and works in Firenze. Gianni Pettena is active as artist, architect, critic and professor from the 1970ies. Between hi major exhibitions we mention: Festival FLUXUS, Firenze 1969; Salone del Mobile, Milano, settembre 1969, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (personale); 1971TRIGON, I premio, Graz 1971; Columbia University, New York City 1972; Royal College of Art, Londra 1973Film d’Architettura n° 5, Triennale di Milano, 1973; VENEREZIA Ambienti sperimentali, Palazzo Grassi, Venezia, luglio 1978; "Wind Architectures", Biennale di Venezia, 1978; CINEMA D'ARTISTE ET CINEMA SPERIMENTALE EN ITALIE, Palais de Chaillot Centre Pompidou, Parigi, dicembre 1978; THE ART OF PERFORMANCE, Palazzo Grassi, Venezia, 8-12 agosto 1979; "Fotografia e immagine dell'architettura”, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna, gennaio 1980; IL TEMPO DEL MUSEO VENEZIA, Biennale di Venezia, novembre 1980; "Poltramaca", Salone del Mobile, Milano, settembre 1985; IL LUOGO FIRENZE. Architettura Radicale: origine, Studio Oggetto, Milano, marzo-aprile 1989; "Radicals. Architettura e Design 1960-1975", Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione Italia, 15 settembre-15 novembre 1996; "Habitus Abito Abitare", Biennale di Firenze, Centro Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, settembre-dicembre 1996; "Habitus Abito Abitare", Atelier der Akademie der bildenden Kunste, Vienna, aprile-maggio 1997; ARCHIPELAGO. Architettura sperimentale 1955-1999”, Palazzo Fabroni, Pistoia, 8 maggio- 11 luglio 1999; “Lo spazio condiviso. Artisti e Architetti. La collezione Frac Centre di Orléans”, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, 30 giugno/30 sett. 2000; “Radical Architecture”, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Colonia, sett. 2000; “Architecture Radicale”, Institut d’art Contemporaine, Frac Rhone-Alpes, Villeurbane (Lyon), genn-maggio 2001; Arquitectura Radical, MUVIM, Valencia, nov-dic. 2001; Gianni Pettena. Le métier de l’architect (personale/antologica), Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain du Centre (FRAC Centre), Orléans, 4 febbraio-26 aprile 2002; Continuità. Arte in Toscana 1968-1989, Palazzo Fabroni, Pistoia, 24 febbraio- 9 giugno 2002; Arquitectura Radical, CAAM, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 5 marzo-5 maggio 2002; Arquitectura Radical, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Siviglia, gennaio-marzo 2003

Superstudio Superstudio was an architecture firm, founded in 1966 in Florence, Italy by Adolfo Natalini and Cristiano Toraldo di Francia. in 1967, Natalini established three categories of future research: “architecture of the monument”; the “architecture of the image”; and “tecnomorphic architecture”. Many of their projects were originally published in the magazine Casabella, and ranged from fiction, to storyboard illustration, to photomontage. The Continuous Monument: An Architectural Model for Total Urbanization, 1969 Twelve Cautionary Tales for Christmas: Premonitions of the Mystical Rebirth of Urbanism. Natalini wrote in 1971 “…if design is merely an inducement to consume, then we must reject design; if architecture is merely the codifying of bourgeois model of ownership and society, then we must reject architecture; if architecture and town planning is merely the formalization of present unjust social divisions, then we must reject town planning and its cities…until all design activities are aimed towards meeting primary needs. Until then, design must disappear. We can live without architecture…” Founded in 1966 by a group of designers based in florence, italy, this group was composed by six members: Adolfo Nataline Cristiano Toraldo di Francia Roberto Magris Piero Frassinelli Alessandro Magris Alessandro Poli Their Proyects included monumental architecture like: Istogrammi d'arquitectura (1969) Memorial Park and monument to partisians of Resistance. Modena, Italia (1970) Interior