11th September to 31th October 2008

On Thursday 11th September Ciocca Arte Contemporanea will be inaugurating the group exhibition Strange Day.

  
 

In a time of contrast, when exhibitionism continues to fight against the need for a deeper self-awareness, eight contemporary artists broach the matter of “showing oneself” in all its conceivable ways - from the ostentatious use of the body to how we reveal our true selves to one another intimately. Strange Day symbolises this contrast, not only as a stage from where we can see a person for who they are when projecting outwardly, but also as a place where we are able to meet a more sensitive, reflective account of people too.

In Vincenzo Cabiati’s work, Ragazza ricca, the main theme focuses on the difficulty that men and women have now in trying to show themselves for who they really are, without the distraction of goods and products either worn or on display that define a social status of their own.

  
 
 
  Exhibitionism and sex are the issues tackled by Elke Krystufek in the work When the body speaks, the mind will follow. Krystufek analyses the fine line of uncertainty between mere exhibitionism and sexual connotation, especially at a time now that sexual images are far more freely accessible – and perhaps at the expense of our intimacy.  
 
 
 

Similar themes appear in Vanessa Beecroft’s work who, from the beginning of her career, has been interested in voyeurism as intrusion. Often using women’s bodies as her primary medium, her work in Strange Day depicts an abandoned, evanescent body, all skin and bones, gaunt and sharp, that provocatively reminds us of a crucifixion.

  
 
 
 

In The black period Franko B studies the male universe, exclusively using the non-colour black to outline an erotic relief and silhouette: the social blame gives in to a dark and disillusioned atmosphere.

  
 
 
 

Rita Casdia, a young Sicilian artist, addresses her concerns with the irony and playfulness of her generation, presenting colourful polymer-clay dolls that express their sexuality in very provocative ways, balancing humour with desecration.

  
 
 
 

Elizabeth Aro’s architectural clothes belong to the world of fashion. They are clothes that cover the body as a second skin whilst also being “shapes that mirror thought’s complexity”, showing the conflict between interior and exterior, public and private.

  
   
 

Marisa Albanese’s Korai are contemporary women who each wear a sheet and helmet to hide from, but most of all preserve themselves from, the homologation that has made mankind weak. Using their bodies they protect and defend the integrity of thought and mind.

  
 

 
  Alexander Costello, with typical English humour, proposes in the work I never got it when she told me to fuck off, sentences and thoughts that tell us about the infinite ways of feeling. The sentiment is at times delicate, yet disposable, as if like balloons ready to drift away.  
   
     
 
Comunicato Stampa
 
 
Press release