Imaginarii
Gianni Colombo Giorgio Griffa Davide Balula
16 September – 13 December 2015
Fondazione Carriero, via Cino del Duca 4, Milano

The Fondazione Carriero opens in the heart of Milan, in one of the oldest and
most evocative buildings in the city center. An important new player on Milan’s cultural scene, the Foundation’s mission is to promote and support the art and artists of our time. The Foundation’s exhibition calendar will open with the show imaginarii, curated by Francesco Stocchi, in Palazzo Parravicini on Via Cino del Duca. The show will open September 15, 2015, with free admission to the public from Thursday, September 16 to Sunday, December 13, 2015.

For the launch of the foundation’s activities, Francesco Stocchi was invited to work on
a concept, and he devised a site-specific exhibition, dedicated to exploring the spatial dimension. The show imaginarii presents a selection of works by three artists—Gianni Colombo, Giorgio Griffa, and Davide Balula—with some pieces specially created for the setting. The result is a carefully orchestrated combination that, in a minimalist framework, develops a new space in which the work is in close contact with its immediate environment. Shape, lighting, space, and the observer are interwoven into a constantly changing interaction.

The exhibition imaginarii will occupy the entire Parravicini palazzo. On the ground floor, one room will be totally dedicated to the youngest artist, Davide Balula. On the first floor, visitors will be able to view a site-specific work by Giorgio Griffa. In the seventeenth-century frescoed hall on the second floor, decorated with stucco and majolica, a Spazio elastico will be reconstructed, as a tribute to Gianni Colombo.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue consisting of four volumes: a publication dedicated to each artist, and a general catalogue with critical essays and views of the exhibition (texts by Giorgio Carriero, Francesco Stocchi; Adam Kleinman for Davide Balula; Céline Condorelli, Gabriel Kuri, and Luca Trevisani for Gianni Colombo; Gavin Delahunty for Giorgio Griffa).
Davide Balula and Giorgio Griffa will use their individual publication to create an artist’s book, while for Colombo, a catalogue dating to 1968 will be republished. It was originally issued for the exhibition that the artist held at Galleria L’Attico in Rome, and to this, some hitherto unpublished projects of the Spazio elastico will be added.

The Fondazione Carriero extends its commitment to the general public by not forgetting children. The educational project is for children between the ages of five and twelve, based on the fact that art and creativity are fundamental for individual growth and for the development of society as a whole. For the inaugural exhibition, there will be two free workshops, specially designed for younger visitors and subdivided according to age groups. The objective is to introduce children to contemporary art, encouraging their creativity, sensitivity, and awareness of the world of art in an enjoyable and original way. Specialist staff will help children develop a relationship with the works, stimulating their curiosity.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Thursday, September 16 to Sunday, December 13, admission free, every day, by appointment by telephone or e-mail. On Saturdays, the show can be visited at any time without appointment, from 11:00 to
18:00.