Attraverso l’arte

The exhibition Attraverso l’arte (Through Art) traces the exhibition activity of the gallery Il Gabbiano, a cultural reference point for La Spezia which created connections among various generations of artists and promoted the most representative movements of the international art scene from the ‘60s to the new millennium, such as Visual Poetry, Fluxus, Conceptual Art and Body Art.

Founded in 1968 as “Circolo Culturale Il Gabbiano”, the gallery had the special characteristic of being an artistic interaction point wholly managed by artists, artists wishing to update the cultural environment of the province and continue the inherited relationship with contemporary art which the town of La Spezia had cultivated in the early post-war years, thanks to the various editions of the Premio del Golfo (Gulf Award).

With the over 500 exhibitions which succeeded one another in the gallery from 1968 to 2018, Il Gabbiano demonstrated ever more clearly its singularly militant approach, fed by a visionary impulse which over the years became a concrete, lasting cultural mission.

The exhibition aims at illustrating this exhilarating story with a composite display, punctuated by special themed sections and points of focus on Italian and international artists who have had lasting collaborations with the La Spezia gallery: starting with the fitting homage to the founders and historic animators of the gallery, Mauro Manfredi (1933-2004), Fernando Andolcetti (1930-2021), and Cosimo Cimino (1939), who has created a special installation for the occasion. At the end of the ‘90s, Mario Commone (1964) joined the artistic management of Il Gabbiano.

PROJECT ROOM – FLAGS

A special feature of the of programmes of Il Gabbiano, which was consolidated above all in the last two decades of gallery’s activity, was active involvement; this was translated into the production of themed collective shows, for which the artists were invited to create special works according to specific indications (regarding theme, but also often format and medium).

Within this overall view, the single work became part of a whole, a kind of “series” which often also entered the publishing sphere, with publication of the show catalogue.
This way of working allowed the gallery to build up a solid network of relations with the artists over the years, with shared discussions and exchanges at the artistic but also the existential levels.  
And it is with the precise aim of revisiting the exhibition and relational dynamics of the gallery that for this exhibition, Attraverso l’arte (Through art), 50 artists who over the years have exhibited at Il Gabbiano have been invited to create a contribution/homage in the form of a flag, thus forming a large collective installation which becomes an integral part of  the historic exhibition itinerary. Each author has responded by interpreting the theme in their own language and with their own means of expression. In this way the flag becomes an exemplification of each participant’s creativity, a symbol of freedom, friendship and lightness, elements which have always been the hallmarks of Il Gabbiano.