The 5th edition of Arte all’Arte, curated by Roberto Pinto and Gilda Williams, stood out for its boldness in expanding artistic horizons, giving space to cultures and voices not yet fully recognized on the international scene. In an era in which the internet is redefining distances, it has become impossible to limit the gaze exclusively to Europe and North America as the centers of contemporary artistic production.
The invited artists brought reflections from geographically distant but culturally close contexts to the thinking of contemporary practice. Tania Bruguera explored new narratives in Poggibonsi, while Martin Creed offered his unique vision in San Gimignano. Wim Delvoye intertwined tradition and provocation in Montalcino, and Alberto Garutti engaged in dialogue with the public in Colle di Val d’Elsa. Kendell Geers challenged conventions in Volterra, Sislej Xhafa created a bridge between art and society in Casole d’Elsa, and the collective A Constructed World enriched San Gimignano with its participatory works.
An edition that celebrated diversity, challenged boundaries, and embraced art as a universal and inclusive language.
Edited by Roberto Pinto and Gilda Williams.
"The strongly expressive language in the work of Tania Bruguera in Poggibonsi and in that of Kendell Geers in Volterra, the mix between artistic intervention and musical performance by Martin Creed in San Gimignano, the relationship between art and architecture emphasized in the work of Alberto Garutti in Colle di Val d’Elsa, the installations of Sislej Xhafa in Casole d’Elsa, the Flemish tradition contaminated by mass media culture in Wim Delvoye's work in Montalcino. These are the contemporary beauties that we will be able to appreciate along our journey, set within a natural framework that is already a work of art in itself.
See you soon then, the journey is about to begin.”
Arte Architettura Paesaggio sono i termini concettuali intorno a cui si muove il progetto, giunto alla sua quinta edizione, quest’anno curata da Roberto Pinto e Gilda Williams.
La ricerca d’un punto d’equilibrio differente tra città e campagne, tra la cultura che si afferma nei grandi centri e quella che si sviluppa in queste piccole città, può ripensarsi, trovare nuove forme e dare nuova linfa a saperi antichi.
L’arte e gli artisti, per ripensare localmente la cultura globale senza spezzare la comunicazione con gli altri, lontani dall’arte contemporanea, e con le radici qui presenti.
Le opere d’arte nelle città, per permettere a chi vi ha sempre abitato di vederle con occhi diversi.
Certo, la strada è lunga, ma le opere che gli artisti ogni anno realizzano appositamente per questi luoghi ci infondono sempre nuovo entusiasmo, e anche le cittadinanze e le amministrazioni locali di Casole d’Elsa, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Montalcino, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano e Volterra sono sempre più sensibili e partecipi a questa impresa.
Città e campagna, per non far brutte le periferie abbandonandole a sé stesse e per non lasciare che il nostro paesaggio, così ricco di sapori e di stimoli visivi, si appiattisca per abbandono, noncuranza e mancanza d’informazione.
(…) This year, alongside the works by Ilya Kabakov and Sol LeWitt hosted in the city of Colle di Val d’Elsa, an additional tool has been added to enhance education and visits to cities through contemporary art: the work I Dormienti, donated by Mimmo Paladino to the city of Poggibonsi. These three works now create a new permanent route, the result of the participation of three elements: the artist, the public administrator (directly, as in Colle di Val d’Elsa, or supported by local sponsors, as in Poggibonsi), and a “cultural trust bridge” such as the Associazione Arte Continua. Having verified the sustainability of civic engagement during the months of the exhibition, the association has been able to collaborate to ensure that the works remain in the spaces of everyday life in the cities, renewing an identity of art.
Mario Cristiani, from Art to Art V
