Have you ever felt electrified by art? Well these street artists electrified the city with their works of art on electrical boxes in Milan! Each box creates its own unique scene ranging from an aquatic environment, the man from Oz or even a box of french fries.
A simplistic room illuminated by spotlights, projectors and natural light…it must be an Arte Povera artist. At the Castello de Rivoli artist Giovanni Anselmo has an exhibition where he displays a range of works including photographs, projectors that display the word “particolare” and a mound of dirt where you as a visitor are invited to stand on one of the stone viewing platforms. Anselmo brings into question the real and the imagined space in his display of these works in the historical setting of the Castello di Rivoli.
La Mela Reintegrata // Michelangelo Pistoletto // 2015
Street art is all around. You just have to take the time to slow down and look. Works can be painted high on the wall, on the ground, on street signs or be large sculptures in the middle of a square. While I was in Milan these were some of the street artworks I discovered on my journey.
Who doesn’t want to look at art while they have a snack? These packs of Italian breadsticks come with details of famous paintings by Gauguin and Van Gogh so you can munch and view art at the same time.
In a sea of concrete is a bright gold colored building. Known as the Haunted House at the Prada Foundation, this building houses works by two artists: Louise Bourgeois and Robert Gober. With only a few visitors allowed to enter each hour, the Haunted House is not to be missed. A narrow cage like stairway ushers visitors to explore the rooms above.
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois
Robert Gober
Robert Gober
The End — Rocky Mountains // Ragnar Kjartansson // 5 channel video installation, 30’ // 2009
Before entering the room, the sound of what seems a familiar folk song echoes in the hallway. Inside the room are five large projections of beautiful Rocky Mountains landscapes. The Icelandic artist, Ragnar Kjartansson, and his friend are shown playing guitars or pianos in various locations in the snowy mountains. Sometimes, only one person is playing music while the other walks back in forth trying to keep warm. The harmony mixed with the image of the pristine white mountains provide for an intimate viewing experience.
A former royal palace during the Sforza Dynasty, the Palazzo Reale has been transformed into an exhibition center open to the public. Showcasing a wide range of artistic periods, the exhibition 2050: A Brief History of the Future is currently on view. Taken from the book 2050: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali, artists such as Chris Burden, David LaChapelle and Sugimoto explore what our future might look like.
The Seven Heavenly Palaces // Anselm Kiefer // 2015
On permanent display at the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca are Anslem Kiefer’s The Seven Heavenly Palaces. Each tower was constructed with shipping crates and weighs approximately 90 tons and ranges from 14-18 meters tall. The seven towers were inspired by the Hebrew Treatise “The Book of Palaces / Sanctuaries” which was written in the 4 or 5th century. Despite being completely safe, these towers appear as though they could topple by even the slightest wind or shake. Visitors are invited to walk around and through these colossal structures, staring up in awe of the tower that stretches above them.
Empty frame of Vincent van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890) // Sampling Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main cornice
The exhibition L’Image Volée at the Prada Foundation is a group show curated by one of the artists, Thomas Demand. Categorized into three sections, the exhibition explores the themes of stolen art and images. Whilst some artists steal or alter existing art to make new works, other artists take images from the public, such as television clips and security cameras, as the basis for an artistic piece. The works in this exhibition are sure to steal your breath away.
Slashed canvas // Francis Bacon // Collection Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin
Concetto spaziale, Attese // Lucio Fontana — Hisachika Takahashi // 1966 // oil on canvas // Private collection, Milan
Poster // Lucian Freud // 1988 // ink on paper // Frankfurt am Main
In the center of Milan stands the Nuovecento Museum. The tall blue windows enable the visitors to view the Duomo and surrounding piazza. Specializing in 20th century Italian art, the Nuovcento showcases artists such as Mario Merz, Gino Marotta and Lucio Fontana. These are some of my favorite works from the permanent collection.
Lucio Fontana
Magnetic Surface // Davide Boriani // electrical mechanism in aluminium, glass, iron dust, magnets & 220 volt electrical micro-motor // 1959-1964
Zebra (Fibonacci) // Mario Merz // stuffed animal, 12 neon numbers // 1973
Modular Nature // Gino Marotta // Screen print on transparent methacrylate, 6 elements, variable dimensions // 1966
Untitled // Jannis Kounellis // untreated iron, jute, travertine, limonite // 1988
