The exhibition is curated by Marco Franciolli, director of MASI Lugano, with Edwin Jacobs, former director of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and now director of the Dortmunder U – Zentrum für Kunst und Kreativität, Dortmund, and Charlotte Schepke, director of the Large Glass gallery , London
His work recurs portraits, still lifes, as well as moments of daily life, rituals and reflections on society, individuals and relationships, explored with innovative techniques that tend to dissolve the limits between the various artistic disciplines. In fact, photography constitutes only one of the many overlapping pieces in his artistic production: starting from a negative, or from a frame, Horsfield produces large-format works created with surprising and disparate techniques such as tapestries and frescoes. The narrative structure of the exhibition develops in sections centered on emblematic works, often monumental works such as the majestic tapestries dedicated to the apocalyptic scene of Ground Zero or to the Gulf of Naples in an ambiguous night vision. The extraordinary path that emerges brings to light the relationships that exist between events that took place in apparently distant places and moments, between the people who took part in them and the spectators who discover them in the exhibition. The concept of relationship - understood both as the bond between individuals and as narration, telling - is central to Horsfield's work. In the projects he has created specifically for this exhibition, as well as on numerous other occasions, this is particularly evident. According to the artist, a work of art is fully realized only thanks to the active role of the public: "What happens here is the recognition of a passage of understanding, recollection and identification, the impression of giving time and deep attention to the world and to others, and to a profound present. [...] Sometimes these passages are fluid in their interrelationships, other times they are angular and discordant, and within the structure there are layers upon layers of associations, quotations and allusions, within the works, within the narrative and throughout the story , history imagined as a profound present ».
Since the end of the sixties Craigie Horsfield has created sound works, structures composed of pre-recorded sounds and music, and the configuration of the exhibition itself is articulated like the movements of a musical composition. Alongside the tapestries, frescoes and prints, the exhibition itinerary includes a new sound work composed and mixed by the artist together with the composer and musician Reinier Rietveld with whom he has been collaborating for decades. This sound element, in dialogue with the other works, contributes to the elaboration of new and specific meanings.
The exhibition also presents a series of unpublished portraits made in Lugano by the artist specifically for the MASI exhibition. What prevails in these images is the exploration of the processes by which we try to understand each other and exist together. At the same time these works testify to the uniqueness of the people who collaborate with the artist and their singular and unique existence in the present, recognized in the attention of the viewer, through recollection, sensitivity and empathy.
The catalog On the occasion of the exhibition, a publication was produced in close collaboration with the artist, which takes up and expands the themes and structure of the exhibition. The volume includes texts by Bruno Fornari, Marco Franciolli, Craigie Horsfield and Nancy Princenthal and has 172 color images.
In addition to the usual free guided tours, numerous cultural mediation activities are planned for the duration of the exhibition aimed at encouraging public enjoyment and transforming the visit into an enriching and exciting experience. The program is available on the website www.edu.luganolac.ch.
LAC Lugano Art and Culture
Piazza Bernardino Luini 6, 6901 Lugano
Tel: + 41 (0) 58 866 4230
info@masilugano.ch
www.masilugano.ch
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10 am-00pm; Thursday open until 18:00; Monday closed
Title: Credit Suisse: Our Commitment to Culture
Art is the window through which man recognizes his highest faculties, wrote Giovanni Segantini. Refine the ability to see the essential, induce reflection. For this reason, Credit Suisse has supported several major national and international institutions for over 40 years. Visitors are attracted by the rich collections of Swiss museums, including nationally and internationally renowned institutions such as the MASI Lugano.
Gabriela Cotti Musio, Media Relations Ticino of Credit Suisse, explains how "the Bank works as a trusted partner with important Swiss art institutions, not limiting itself, however, to providing funds, but sharing specific technical skills, an excellent network of reports and numerous ideas for art projects. Precisely in the context of the promotion of young talent, which plays a central role in Credit Suisse's sponsoring philosophy, unique collaborations were born, such as the "Credit Suisse Förderpreis Videokunst" award, established by the bank and the Kunstmuseum Bern in 2011 and awarded annually starting from 2012 ".
The Credit Suisse collection, which began in 1975, currently includes around 10 works of contemporary art. In 000, important paintings and drawings of early twentieth century Swiss art were added from the collection of the former Swiss People's Bank. The bank presents these works within its spaces or lends them to exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad. In expanding its collection, Credit Suisse aims to promote young talent through the purchase of works by selected artists, many of whom are taking the first steps in a promising career. In this way, the bank helps artists to establish themselves and at the same time expands its collection in an organic way by including the works of important exponents of Swiss contemporary art.
In Ticino, Credit Suisse has supported the Lugano Museum of Art since 1992 and has held official partner status since 2008. In 2015 the Art Museum and the Cantonal Art Museum joined together to form the MASI Lugano - Art Museum of Italian Switzerland, Lugano, in the new cultural center LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura.
