NEXT UP is the programme curated by Beatrice Rainone, dedicated to a critical selection of the most significant initiatives that address the new themes and languages with which contemporary art confronts digital culture.
Retinal Rivalry changes the way we perceive images with a 3D and HD stereoscopic video transforming into a living sculpture. The work explores German landscapes, from the Oktoberfest (without beer, but with the same alcoholic effects) to the Burger King in a Nazi electrical substation and culminates in Bastei, a Friedrich-esque landscape in a Pinterest version. The video moves away from narration towards visual immersion, leaving the audience suspended between surprise and estrangement. Gaillard’s soundtrack mixes Javanese music, a wandering Weimar organ and UNESCO recordings, creating a playlist unheard of on Spotify, but unexpectedly engaging. The work challenges perception and transforms even a Burger King into a visual sculpture, inviting us to reflect: are we observing the world or feeling it?
MAO celebrates the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy with the exhibition Rabbit Inhabits the Moon! A tribute to the legacy of Nam June Paik, the guru of video art, with works by contemporary Korean artists. And who doesn’t know the famous rabbit on the moon? The symbol rich in meaning in many cultures of the Far East becomes the fil rouge of an exhibition journey where tradition and innovation intertwine as in a cosmic dance. The soundtrack of the route is provided by Jiha Park’s original compositions and reinterpretations of Chopin, which transform the visit into a multi-sensory experience.
Dream or awake? At the centre of Giuliana Cunéaz’s solo exhibition is La belle au bois dormant (2023), an installation that serves as a dream machine. Lying on a bed, the visitor writes a sentence on a tablet, giving rise to a vision projected above the canopy. This dream machine invites one to lose oneself in a dreamlike universe, where sign and dream are intertwined through artificial intelligence. In line with Artissima’s theme, The Era of Daydreaming, the work promises an unmissable sensory trip (the work, not the sleep!). Cunéaz invites us to daydream and review our perception of reality: can technology, like Perrault’s fairy tale, offer us the same extraordinary experiences?
Born in 1999, she is a museum educator and mediator. She graduated in Art History at the University of Florence with a thesis on the concept of reproducibility in crypto-art. She currently works in various cultural institutions in Tuscany, including Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Fondazione Pistoia Musei, Museo del Tessuto.