ArtCan / Arte Borgo
4 – 9 March 2024
Private View: Thursday 7 March, 6-8pm
Artist Talk: Friday 8 March, 6pm onwards
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Italo Calvino’s birth, we are delighted to announce the joint Arte Borgo | ArtCan exhibition ‘Transparent as a Dragonfly’
Curators Anna Isopo and Martina Scavone of Arte Borgo, Lesley Bunch and Rita Carta Manias of ArtCan invited artists to choose a line, passage or chapter from the book ‘Invisible Cities’, and propose work in response to it.
The title for the exhibition is taken from a passage in Calvino’s Invisible Cities: “Perhaps everything lies in knowing what words to speak, what actions to perform, and in what order and rhythm; or else someone’s gaze, answer, gesture is enough; it is enough for someone to do something for the sheer pleasure of doing it, and for his pleasure to become the pleasure of others: at that moment, all spaces change, all heights, distances; the city is transfigured, becomes crystalline, transparent as a dragonfly” (p.140 ‘Invisible Cities’ Vintage, Random House 1997).
Participating artists are based throughout the UK and EU. The travelling exhibition opened from 4th – 18th October 2023 in Rome at the Arte Borgo Gallery, generating an enthusiastic response and extensive public attendance, before travelling to London to Bermondsey Project Space.
Exhibiting artists include: Axel Becker, Serafino Botticelli, Lesley Bunch, Paola Ceci, Tere Chad, Francesca Ciaudano, Felicia Cleper-Borkovi AIA, Alan Codd, Benedict Collins Rice, Phil Cope, Roberta De Caro, Luigi De Leonibus, Stathis Dimitriadis, Antonio Esposito, Diane Frost, Waltraud Gemein, Silvio Gorelli, Cathy Green, Monika Hartl, Rian Hotton, Catherine Jacobs, Silvana Landolfi, Sandy Layton, OXALEA – Léa Layeux, Lola Llinares, Andrea Lobel, Lawrence Mathias, Rebecca Moss Guyver, Maria Pacheco Cibils, Hedy Parry-Davies, Ada Pasta, Desa Philippi, Jane Pryor, Luciano Puzzo, Paulina Ree, Maria Stamati, Anna Tonelli, Rebecca Tucker, Maz Weineck.
ArtCan is an artist-led, non-profit arts organisation with members across Britain and internationally. ArtCan’s work is supported by the efforts of artist-member volunteers and contributions from donations and Friends of ArtCan. ArtCan works with galleries, but also seeks new spaces where art becomes a part of everyday life and with the aim of involving audiences in an organic and personal way. ArtCan’s artist-centred ethos means that the model does not involve charging membership fees or commissions on sales, to help artists focus on developing a sustainable practice.
Arte Borgo Gallery, established in 2016, is located in the Borgo district of Rome, a stone’s throw from the Vatican City. This small district of Rome has maintained its historical character, with many artisan studios, shops and restaurants. Arte Borgo presents solo and group shows of contemporary artists based in Italy and abroad.
