Not far from the centre of Treviso, a new contemporary art gallery has opened, dedicated to emerging art in its most “urban” and “street” forms: the 21Gallery – so called in reference to 2021, the year of its foundation – is a gamble that could already be considered a winner in terms of the aims and intentions that guide the creators of this great project.

In the front row there are three entrepreneurs, well-known names in the North-East and with great experience in the field of contemporary art: Davide Vanin, a young Treviso native active in the sector with his Cantiere Art District, since 2018 a brilliant combination of cocktail bar and art gallery; Massimiliano Mucciaccia, founder and owner of Mucciaccia Gallery-Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery, with branches in Rome, Cortina, London, Singapore and New York; and Alessandro Benetton, founder and Chairman of the 21 Invest group and contemporary art collector.

They share an ambitious mission, which aims to promote young talent in the field of visual arts, generate a positive impact on the territory with programmes dedicated to schools and Street Art operations aimed at enhancing the public heritage, and at the same time support charitable causes, donating at least 20% of profits. This year the profits will be donated to art4sport Onlus, the association chaired by Teresa A. Grandis and founded in 2009 by Bebe Vio, with the aim of promoting sport as a therapy for the physical and psychological recovery of children and young people with prosthetic limbs.

“We’re trying to broaden our horizons as much as possible, we’re going to start collaborating with the territory and educating people about the potential of emerging artists. All this is part of a wider project, called Treviso Art District, whose area will be enriched by a space dedicated to design, a gourmet restaurant called Vite, run by a starred chef, training areas and a hydroponic house” explains director Vittoria Beggiato, who has solid experience in managing the Mucciaccia Gallery in Rome and Cortina.

It is with these exceptional premises that 21Gallery officially opened on 27 November 2021, inaugurating its first exhibition with “When Urban Attitudes Become Contemporary Art”, curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi. Twenty-six authors on show, already active in Urban art: 2501, Alberonero, Roberto Alfano, Giorgio Bartocci, Gonzalo Borondo, BR1, Edoardo Caimi, CANEMORTO, Roberto Ciredz, Alessandro Cripsta, Matteo Ceretto Castigliano (CT), El Gato Chimney, Oliviero Fiorenzi, GeometricBang, Guerrilla Spam, Hardchitepture, Greg Jager, Jerico, Ligama, Moneyless, Domenico Romeo, Sbagliato, STEN – LEX, Francesco Tosini, Daniele Tozzi, UNO.

The entrance opens to visitors with Organismo, an installation of paintings and clay sculptures by the well-known Florentine collective Guerrilla Spam, juxtaposed with the triptych Genesi by Gonzalo Borondo Moreno, an internationally renowned urban artist. The walls are lined with works by Canemorto (Sacakortxo, Carlo giallo su sfondo di tre cani #4 and Carlo giallo su sfondo di tre cani #6) and Roberto Alfano’s large painted wooden panels with references to Art Brut. We recognise the style of 2501 (aka Jacopo Ceccarelli), in two geometric ceramics flanked by a large panel with a research on monochromatic lines, and of the Roman duo Sten Lex, with the works Confini XXL and Mare Industriale, also black and white studies with geometric lines that, through torn and dangling residues, reproduce changing shapes. Solid and in motion are respectively the works of artists Domenico Romeo (Anm_6_1/1_CL_21, iron and fabric structure) and CT (Senza Titolo, silkscreen ink, and Senza Titolo, geometric wood sculpture).

There is no shortage of talented young painters such as Jerico with Monstera&Essenza and Grandi Fiori, and BR1, already known for his portraits of women wearing veils, who here presents the canvas Nata in Italia non italiana and the photograph Golden Dark Age. The illustrations by El Gato Chimney and Alessandro Cripsta are surreal and dreamlike, as are the colourful ceramics by Oliviero Fiorenzi. There is no shortage of installations reflecting on urban space and the natural landscape with Roberto Ciredz (Erosion 12 and Residuo 2), Hardchitepture (Mondo Cane) and Alberonero (Plastica rurale 2 and La secchia).

Many other artists inhabit the gallery spaces in an exhibition that declares itself as a citation and reference to Harald Szeemann’s almost homonymous exhibition at the Bern Kunsthalle in 1969 (When Attitudes Become Forms), but also a true documentation of the talent of contemporary Italian artists under 40 and testimony to the potential of Urban Art in all its forms.

Soon to be scheduled is the Talk between curator Cesare Biasini Selvaggi and Andrea Concas, writer and founder of Art Rights, a digital platform supporting the management and certification of works of art based on Blockchain technology: 16 February at 7 p.m. in the gallery spaces and by appointment.

Paola Natalia Pepa 

Info:

When Urban Attitudes Become Contemporary Art
curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi
27/11/2021 – 20/03/2022
21Gallery
TAD, Viale della Repubblica 3, Villorba (Treviso)
Free entry
info@21gallery.it
Open everyday from 10.00 to 19.00
+39 375 5644295
twentyonegallery.it
Press office: Sofia Li Pira +39 347.8495757 | sofialipira@gmail.com