Portal #2 - Naples / Berlin is the exhibition project of the Luigi Solito gallery which involved sixteen international artists1, coming from the United States to Russia, who have chosen Berlin as the center of development and production of their artistic research.

This exhibition which, like a portal, transports us from Naples to Berlin is the result of a choice that recognizes the German capital as one of the most dynamic and prolific cultural and artistic contexts in Europe.

The exhibition is curated by two Berlin artists, Anna Nezhnaya who, during the pandemic, managed to organize the exhibition Portal behind the large glass window by Schau Fenster, the Kreuzberg project room and by Fabia Mendoza, author of the documentary The White House on the project The Rosa Parks House by husband and artist Ryan Mendoza, again on display after last season's solo gallery show.

“The German market - says the gallery owner Luigi Solito - has a unique tradition within it, and it is no coincidence that Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer are among the most influential living European artists in the world. Germany is one of the few nations that finances artists; in short, if something has to happen we will see it happen in Europe and for sure in Germany, then in Berlin."

A choice that of the young Neapolitan gallery, which focuses heavily on the artistic research of the new generations, giving the opportunity to artists such as Minor Alexander (Germany), Kristina Bekker (Germany-Russia), Diego Cibelli (Italy), Katya Quel Elizarova (Germany -Russia) and others to be joined by some established names in the international art scene such as John Isaacs, Ryan Mendoza, Andrej Golder and Gregor Hildebrandt.

Even the location, a renovated space inside the former Wool Mill, in the historic center of Naples, seems suitable to welcome and give a new impetus to a heterogeneous set of works that include canvases, sculptures, installations, photographs and drawings.

The reinterpretation of Minor Alexander's Venus de Milo at the back of the room seems to dialogue with the other works on display, from references to the subconscious of the female world in the neon installation by Anna Nezhnaya, to the mirror work by Lukas Glinkowski which reflects on the concept of perception of daily life.

Naples is also known for its cosmopolitan spirit, for having attracted and welcomed, over time, various artists from all over the world. There are many initiatives in the city on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Beuys, one of the most significant German artists of contemporary art.

As if to create a further portal is the satellite exhibition Because You Want To Be Loved, an off event of Portal #2, at the historic Spazio NEA by Luigi Solito which presents the solo show of the German director and photographer Lennart Brede whose artistic research ranges from productions cinematographic, video installations and abstract photography.

1 On show: Minor Alexander (Germany), Kristina Bekker (Germany-Russia), Diego Cibelli (Italy), Katya Quel Elizarova (Germany-Russia), Wolfgang Flad (Germany), Lukas Glinkowski (Germany), Andrej Golder (Germany), Gregor Hildebrandt (Germany), John Isaacs (England), Ryan Mendoza (USA), Anna Nezhnaya (Germany-Russia), Emmanuel Pidré (Argentina), Tim Plamper (Germany), Frédéric Platéus (Belgium), Alexander Skorobogatov (Germany) and Sergej Tchoban (Germany-Russia).