Projects for San Gimignano, Diamond, Cingolani and Martegani, 1997

Jessica Diamond, Marco Cingolani, and Amedeo Martegani were the young artists invited to the second edition of Arte all’Arte by curators Jan Hoet and Giacinto di Pietrantonio, presenting their works throughout the views of San Gimignano, including Piazza delle Erbe and the Rocca garden.

“This time, the initiative comes directly from the three young artists themselves. And they’re not doing something commercial, like setting up an exhibition in the gallery itself, but instead they set three artists free in the city—within its past and among its people. Three artists from a younger generation than the previously mentioned leading figures: the American Jessica Diamond (already known in Europe through group exhibitions in London, Ghent, Barcelona, and Venice) and the Italians Cingolani and Martegani, who had previously exhibited in the gallery and now have the opportunity to explore San Gimignano itself, its history, and its everyday life. An operation as meaningful as it is risky—yet another reason why I gladly and wholeheartedly accepted their request to offer a few thoughts about the initiative.

A first observation: consciously, Diamond, Cingolani, and Martegani mostly seek out, in the places they have chosen, those parts of the city—its streets and its houses—that have not yet been contaminated by kitsch and commerce. They try to engage with a living past, one not yet tarnished.

Second observation: their art is about art. Just like many Italian cities, San Gimignano is already a work of art in itself. The three artists now pose the following question: how was beauty, life, and communication thought about here in the past? And what must I do today to find a connection, to formulate a response—in short, what must I “create” today in order to continue living? In this blend of art with art, the subtle interplay between word and image becomes, in fact, ambiguous. But also necessary—because otherwise, the artists would be just like tourists, walking through the city as if it were an open-air museum.

They don’t do that. They speak with the city of the past about the life of today."

Jan Hoet, Arte all’Arte II, 1997