Arthub

Patrick Tuttofuoco, Andrea Anastasio
I VEGGENTI (The Seers)
July 21–September 15, 2021

www.arthubasia.org
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Curated by Davide Quadrio and Ajola Xoxa.

Arthub is glad to announce together with the Embassy of Italy in Tirana and Harabel Contemporary Art Platform, the exhibition I VEGGENTI (the Seers) with works by Patrick Tuttofuoco and Andrea Anastasio, curated by Davide Quadrio e Ajola Xoxa with the coordination of Francesca Bonomo of the Capo d’Arte association.

This is the first episode of a journey that will culminate in 2022, when the two Italian artists, Patrick Tuttofuoco and Andrea Anastasio, protagonists of the project, will make a permanent installation in a public place in Tirana.

Belonging to different generations and different artistic practices, Tuttofuoco and Anastasio have accepted the invitation to work separately but jointly on a site-specific project in Tirana in which the reflection on the complex culture and history of Albania would meet with their artistic sensibilities.

In the old Villa on Ibrahim Rugova Street which hosts the exhibition, the visitor will find himself on an itinerary to encounter a series of works by the two artists in dialogue within themselves and with the rich history of Albania distilled by the building itself. 

Among the works exhibited, the new commissioned works are: the installation La Veggente (Androniqi Zengo) identifies and traces a fundamental moment in the recent history of Albania and its important cultural past: it refers to a portrait of Androniqi Zengo (1913–2000) one of the most iconic Albanian artists, almost a seer able to anticipate the times becoming crucial for future generations. Calypso, Laelia, Cambria, by Tuttofuoco, three ceramic masks with a petal-like shape that fix the viewer from the top of a rough metal support, placed like a military squad charged with giving the exhibition the protection of a male element. 

Attraverso-2021, by Anastasio, a fragile and transparent curtain derived from the bas-relief created for the facade of the Lieutenancy building in Tirana, a work of the Communist period. The narration of the bas-relief, of a strong propaganda and rhetorical character, is here deconstructed and transferred to a lace curtain. The overlap brings the original monumental opacity into direct dialogue with the domestic aesthetic of the curtain / diaphragm interposed between the outside and the inside. History, its events and their impact on individual destinies are seen from a domestic and ornamental, semi-transparent dimension. 

Celibe-2021, also by Anastasio: a Gjirokastra choir sings traditional Albanian songs, songs for weddings or funerals, farewell and nostalgia songs. The choir sings but the sound is muffled, almost inaudible: it is broadcast live on the other side of the Adriatic, at the pier of the port of Bari and in the Salento Greece, near Lecce. The song will, in fact, be broadcast as part of the inaugural installation of KORA, Center for the Contemporary Arts, in Castrignano dei Greci.

The VEGGENTI exhibition has been strongly desired by the Ambassador of Italy to Albania, Fabrizio Bucci and marks a new chapter in cultural relations between Italy and Albania.

The three masks Calypso, Laelia, Cambria and La Veggente (Androniqi Zengo) were produced thanks to Ceramiche Gatti, technical sponsor of the exhibition.

Information
Ibrahim Rugova Street, old villa opposite to One Store
Hours: 10am–1pm, 5–8pm

Press contact
Harabel Contemporary Art Platform 
Sky Tower Tirana, Rruga Ibrahim Rugova, Tirana 1000, Albania|
T +355 67 664 5757 / info [​at​] harabel.com.al