February 1 to May 24, the new XNL hosts an exhibition of 150 works from 18 major Italian private collections
Piacenza is enriched with a new exhibition space. In the Ex-Enel building owned by the Piacenza and Vigevano Foundation, it is a cultural center entirely dedicated to contemporary art. XNL is the result of the renovation of a 1910s industrial building of particular architectural value. The former Enel headquarters has been returned to the city as a place to tell about the present time. XNL Piacenza Contemporanea will open on February 1st with the ‘LA RIVOLUZIONE SIAMO NOI. Collezionismo italiano contemporaneo‘ exhibition.
The exhibition curated by Alberto Fiz, open until May 24th, presents over 150 works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and installations.
They are by authors such as Piero Manzoni, Maurizio Cattelan, Marina Abramović, Tomás Saraceno, Andy Warhol, Bill Viola, Dan Flavin. These impressive works of art come from 18 among the most important art collections in Italy. This collection of collections transversely investigates contemporary movements, styles, and trends.
The exhibition itinerary, signed by Michele del Lucchi and AMDL, is divided into eight sections that explore different aspects of collecting between spectacularity and the private dimension. They are: ‘Complicity’, ‘Domestic alterations’, ‘Overturning the World’, ‘Enigma’, ‘The other seen by the self’, ‘Controlling chaos’, ‘Explorations’, ‘Monochrome spaces’. The exhibition takes its title from the name of a work by Maurizio Cattelan, ‘The revolution is us‘. In it, the artist hangs himself on a hook by the felt clothes worn by Joseph Beuys who, in 1972, created a work with the same title. Cattelan’s work communicates the solitude of individual positions making fun of the collector who is not immune to these behaviors.
Cover ph from the Facebook official page.
-Ahmet Ögüt, “River Crossing Puzzle” (2010)