MARCELLA VANZO
I came to define my work by looking close at real objects, daily actions and situations, things we take for granted and mixing these with those we don't. By means of installations, photo and video. Ever since Mamma, my first project, the punching bag becomes an ironic sacrificial pop victim. The punching bag and the mother are one and the same thing, the boxer ends up the fight in a hug. I told collectors I would make a punching bag for them on condition that it represented someone they love: a fantastic lady asked me to portray herself so she could give it to her children. I tend to insert unusual elements in the present and watch for their consequences. What happens if we take heads out of bodies? Utopia happens, a video where a lot of small headless people make their way through everyday life, a place where utopia, meaning actual thought, becomes redundant and the little creatures fly away, as in Miracolo a Milano. What if we auctioned human beings? In XXI Century Human Beings, priority goes to the auction catalogue, a fabulous, inviting object, created with the help of experts in anthropology, psychology, finance and head hunters, who explain the potential and the value of each person on sale. An object that defines the script writing and the set design of a piece conceived as a catalogue, performance and video. In Limbo blood ties dominate, delicate pink ribbons that connect bodies to each other, corsets, lingerie, prosthesis that become the only decoration during a lunch otherwise devoid of ornaments. The sneaky camera keeps shows us different angles and questions how strength and constriction work in the family - the basic cell of our social structure. What if desire took over? A few collages show us how we respond, men and women, as we look for what gives us pleasure. Desires become huge ectoplasms that drive us through a labyrinth in progress: the Mindfield, a portrait of the mind in motion, a piece that includes collage, performance, video and photo. In Lampedusa instead, I noticed how tourist shops would sell small wooden boats, identical to those used by immigrants to reach the island. These became an installation: La Invencible Armada, and a video, Summertime, where the somber arrival of clandestine immigrants parallels the colorful invasion of boisterous tourists on Mediterranean beaches...and the livin' is easy... For Performa09 in New York I presented Performat, a performance piece born out of a Dior diva dress made of silk and feathers. The solo singer interpreted each woman's dream to be a diva, yet ironically interrupted by diapers to change, socks to mend and artwork to dust. This project became an LP, and is presented together with a cut-out installation called Wannabes now on show at Marianne Boesky- where the rich and famous pose for Vogue pictures at an exclusive party. I cut out their faces to make them into those old pre-photoshop posters where one could introduce their face and be transformed by a picture taken. I presented at the Teatro Studio di Scandicci the first version of Rumors - a liquid performance based on a gossip version of Medea, - where voice and body are separated and mixed by the space that hosts them. Based on the Greek myth of Medea, this piece depicts a mythical woman, through the Rumors of her entourage: characters represent the royal court as well as stereotypes of our society. In the Rumors art film project, these are shamelessly portrayed in the kingdom of a grand hotel, a grandiose decadent setting. The Rumors film is now being edited and will be accompanied by a photo project that yet is an independent piece of work. Last but not least, you will find the first attempts at the Synchronic Map System: installations made so that images become objects and objects become images, lead by the intrinsic mechanism that endlessly connects and disconnects what we see around us. Les Amants Immortels is one of the first series coming out of this exciting new modus operandi. Enjoy! Marcella Vanzo
Marcella Vanzo Milano, 1973, dove vive e lavora / Milan, 1973, where she lives and works Mostre personali/solo Exhibitions 2010 Rumors curated by P. Gaglianò for Zoom Teatro 2010,Teatro Studio di Scandicci, Florence 2008 Performat, Lucie Fontaine, Milan 2007 Summertime, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano Mindfield, Teatro Coccia, curated by M. Tagliaferro, Novara 2006 An impossible tour, Italian Academy at Columbia University, New York Limbo, Studio Guenzani, Milan Mostre collettive selezionate/selected Group Exhibitions 2013 Rumors, A Theatre Cycle at Teatro Valle, curated by Nomas Foundation, Rome Autoritratti. Iscrizioni del femminile nell'arte italiana, MAMbo, Bologna Bestiario contemporaneo, tra arte e scienze: artisti italiani dalla collezione ACACIA, curated by G.Testa & G. Verzotti, Museo di Scienze Naturali, Venezia 2012 Estate, curated by L.Fontaine, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York Gli Artisti della collezione Acacia, curated by G.Testa and G.Verzotti, Palazzo Reale, Milano Voglio soltanto essere amato, curated by G. Scardi, MAGA Gallarate, EX3, Firenze 2011 Prague Biennale curated by N. Trezzi, Prague UN'ITA, curated by Flash Art, Industria Superstudio, New York Matter of Action, curated by S. Serighelli, O', Milano Passwords Cycle 11 - Spaces of the Self. Femininity in Italian Video, curated by G. Zapperi Monthermoso Cultural Center, Vitoria Gasteiz 2010 Cosa fa la mia anima mentre sto lavorando? Opere d'arte contemporanea dalla collezione Consolandi, curated by A. Vettese and F. Pasini, MAGA, Gallarate Videoreport Italia 2008_09, curated by A. Bruciati, Galleria Comunale di Monfalcone Casabianca, curated by Anteo Radovan, Bologna L'arpa magica, Lucie Fontaine, Milano 2009 La différence, a cura di/curated by V.Verlé, CAB - Grenoble PERFORMA 09, New York City 2008 videoreport Italia 2006_07 curated by A. Bruciati, Galleria Comunale di Monfalcone Bad Boys, curated by P. Gaglianò, Parco e castello dell'acciaiolo, Firenze Resilience, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin Il rimedio perfetto, curated by M. Tagliafierro, Galleria RIccardo Crespi, Milano Gli artisti della collezione Acacia, curated by A. Daneri and G. Testa, Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino, Genova 2007 Tina B Performance Festival, curated by M.Giovannotti, Prague Evolution de l'art, curated by C. Pietroiusti & Crazy Curators, SPACE, Breitslau 2006 videoreport Italia 2004_05, curated by A. Bruciati, Galleria Comunale di Monfalcone Frame, curated by C. Agnello, R.Tenconi, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne Ecce Uomo, curated by S. Risaliti and G. Testa, Spazio Oberdan, Milan
Academics & Conferences 2013 Travelogue, Fondazione Capri 2012 Un, Due,Tre...O.P.L.A., workshop: Merano in Mano, Merano 2011 Mi tormento invano la domenica pomeriggio?, MAGA, Gallarate 2010 Vedere e non vedere,corso intensivo, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milano 2009 Una lezione al contrario, Università Bocconi, Milano 2009 Performat: a Q&A session, IUAV, Venezia 2008 Summertime revisited, Festarch, Manifatture Tabacchi, Cagliari 2008 Vicissitudes: histories & destinies of psychoanalysis, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University College London Video Festivals & Screenings 2013 Kino der Kunst, Munich 2010 Italian Measure, curated by M. Bazzini, Espacio Fundacion Telefonica, Buenos Aires 2010 Globale Film Festival, Warsaw 2009 Italian Measure, curated by M. Bazzini, Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid 2009 Videa, Siena 2009 Geo-Grafie, Fondazione Remotti, Camogli 2009 Exterritories: in search of moments of community, curated by K. Pawelek, Comuna Otwock, Warsaw 2008 30th Mediterranean Film Festival, Montpellier 2008 Videoart Yearbook, @Manifesta7, Galleria Arte Contemporanea, Trento 2008 Arrivals & Departures, curated by M.Giovannotti, White Box, New York; LOOP, Barcelona 2008 Videa, Siena/Ferrara 2006 Milano Film Festival, Milan Grants & Awards 2006 Novara Arte Cultura production grant, Novara, Italy 2005 New York Award, art residency at Columbia University, New York 2004 ACACIA Emerging Artist Prize, acquisition for the ACACIA fund, Italy Bibliography 2012 M. Paderni, Marcella Vanzo, L'ossessione di narrare, Flash Art, Maggio 2012, n.302 M. Paderni, Voci narranti, Flash Art, Aprile 2012, n. 301 Marcella Vanzo, in cat. Gli artisti italiani della collezione Acacia, Silvana Editoriale 2011 Cristina Baldacci, Vado via o resto qui?, Art e Dossier, n. 274, Febbraio 2011 2010 Marcella Vanzo, in cat. Cosa fa la mia anima mentre sto lavorando? Opere d'arte contemporanea dalla collezione Consolandi A. Vettese and F. Pasini, Electa, 2010 Featured in S. Turzio, Dai Becher al digitale, Alias, 24 Aprile 2010 2009 Featured in M. Paderni, Photography in contemporary art, Johan and Levi 2008 P. Nicolin, Nouvelles de l art en Italie, Artpress No. 352, December 2008 Featured in M.R. Sossai, Film d'artista, Silvana Editoriale, 2008 Featured in L. Vergine, Parole sull'arte 1965-2007, Il Saggiatore, 2008 Pasini, Marcella Vanzo, Galleria Continua, Artforum No. 8, April 2008 2007 Featured in NoMad Milan, 2007 Viscardi, Marcella Vanzo@Mindfield, Novara, Mousse n.9, June/August 2007 A. Sbisà, La favola di Marcella principessa dei ranocchi, La Repubblica, May 6, 2007
MarcelaVanzo SynchronicMapSystem,2012 D apreslesbigbang mixedmedia,50x55x6cm
MarcelaVanzo LesAmantsImmortels MLK+Coreta,2012 mixedmedia,variabledimensions
MarcelaVanzo LesAmantsImmortels Juliet+ManRay,2011 mixedmedia,variabledimensions
MarcelaVanzo LesAmantsImmortels LeCorbu+Yvonne,2011 mixedmedia,variable dimensions
FLASHART maggio2012 INPRIMO PIANO
FLASHART aprile2012 INPRIMO PIANO
FLASHART aprile2012 INPRIMO PIANO