Promoted and produced by the City of Milan – Cultura, Moda, Design with the Galleria d’Arte Moderna and the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, the group show Fuoriclasse, curated by Luca Cerizza, brings together a selection of artists who attended or are still taking courses taught by Alberto Garutti at the academies of Bologna, Milan and Venice

For the 8th Day of Contemporary Art promoted by Amaci Associazione dei Musei d’Arte Contemporanea Italiana, Fuoriclasse will open at the GAM in Via Palestro on Saturday, 6 October 2012, and will also “contaminate” the space at the PAC, as a sort of “prelude” to Alberto Garutti’s solo show, in programme at the Padiglione in Milan in November.

Admission will be free at both venues, in keeping with the tradition of the Day of Contemporary Art, and the show at the GAM will be free of charge until 9 December.

Featuring a selection of works related to different time periods and generations, most of which were conceived specifically for the exhibition, the event will bring together nearly 60 artists, some of whom have achieved international fame, while others are still attending the academies. According to exhibition curator Luca Cerizza, “The peculiarity about Alberto Garutti’s teaching approach lies in his ability to create and promote classroom situations dealing with comparisons and intense discussions between himself and the young artists, and between them and the world they live in. It is not about teaching a technique, ‘style’ or theory, but creating a ‘climate’ that encourages the development of individual identities. Therefore, although it is possible to distinguish several traits and attitudes that recur even in different generations, Garutti’s courses have not produced replicas or variations of a style. If anything, we can call this a constellation of positions that differ greatly among themselves and from Garutti himself, which this exhibition will help us get to know.”

The title of the exhibition also plays along these lines. In Italian Fuoriclasse is a synonym for "superlative talent", usually in sports, but here it alludes to other meanings: the literal one of fuori‐dalla‐classe, i.e., going outside the walls of the classroom, and the metaphorical one of unconventional teaching moving away from classical approaches.

Therefore, Fuoriclasse does not aim to be merely the synthesis of an extraordinary educational experience that is still under way, but above all an important overview of the work of artists trained in Italy over the past two decades, in other words, from 1990 until today. The exhibition is thus a way of looking at Italian art post‐Transavanguardia, in order to probe the possible identity of Italian art, and recognize similarities as well as diversities.
Fuoriclasse aims to represent this variety of positions within a very special container.

Internationally renowned contemporary artists such as Meris Angioletti, Roberto Cuoghi, Lara Favaretto, Giuseppe Gabellone, Petrit Halilaj, Diego Perrone, Paola Pivi and Patrick Tuttofuoco will dialogue not only with some of their very young colleagues, but above all with the 18th‐century space of the Villa Reale and the extraordinary historical heritage of the GAM collection it houses.

Emphasizing the complex and stimulating stratification of signs and correspondences at the Milanese institution, the exhibition engages the artists in an intensive dialogue between ancient and contemporary, using a wide variety of expressive media (painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, audio and video work, musical performance).

For example, Meris Angioletti is creating a new sound installation for the GAM’s Music Room, whereas an “aerial” installation by Giulio Frigo will occupy the staircase. Christian Frosi will engage with bronze statuary and Petrit Halilaj is conceiving a new sculpture dialoguing with Segantini’s work. Alessandro Agudio and Davide Stucchi will reinterpret with quasi‐mimetic works some of the museum furnishing. Marco Basta will instead produce a new work establishing a relationship with one of the Villa’s architectural details. Simone Berti will use several statues from the collection as a support for his animations, which portray and transfigure several Italian artists from the newest generations, while Roberto Cuoghi is presenting a tribute – gloomy and affectionate at the same time – to his professor at the academy.

The exterior of the Villa, its courtyard and adjacent streets will also feature works by the artists. The interventions of the Cherimus group as well as Chiara Luraghi and Stefania Galegati will represent a dialogue between the museum and the urban space, between two different types of public venues.

On the first Saturday in October the PAC will host performances, extemporaneous works and musical ones by the artists featured at the GAM exhibition, in a temporary occupation of the space that will later host the retrospective show dedicated to Garutti.

Galleria d'Arte Moderna
Via Palestro, 16
Milan 20121 Italy
Ph. +39 02 88445947
Ph. +39 02 88445944
Fax +39 02 884445951
c.galleriadartemoderna@comune.milano.it
www.gam-milano.com

Opening hours
From Tuesday to Sunday
9.00 am - 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm - 5.30 pm
Last admission 15 minutes before closing time