A very unofficial installation in a very official location. Absolutely suspicious.
The Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence, 25 ARTISTS FROM 13 COUNTRIES.
Guest-curators: Chiara Bertin (Artist) & Simone Barbi (Architect).
The installation took place in an ancient hall (built in the XIV century) in Santa Verdiana (Piazza Ghiberti n.27). The Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence is based here. The ex-convent of Santa Verdiana, situated on the limits of the quartiere of Santa Croce – in the heart of Florence – occupies a section of the block between Piazza Ghiberti, Via dell’Agnolo and Via Ferdinando Paolieri.
The building has been very important in the sense of Italian art and architecture. The history of Santa Verdiana began in 1395, when Niccolò Manetto di Buonagiunta acquired the monastery and destined it to the Vallumbrosan monks. The convent was enlarged in 1469 by Cosimo the Elder. The garden was walled and the cloister was built, using arches supported by octagonal pillars with capitals shaped as acanthus leaves. In memory thereof is the emblem of the Medicis, visible on the external wall on Via dell’Agnolo.
The place where the artwork has been installed is a beautiful example of Italian architecture and it is rarely used. Without asking for permission, “Politics camouflaged as suspicious art.” has been quickly and silently installed and promoted (at the same time) in Santa Verdiana.
The 26 art pieces made by artists coming from 13 different countries, were accompanied by a simple message: “Please, if you like them, take these drawings”.
Selected artists: Adva Karni (Israel) / Akis Karanos (Greece) / Chiara Bertin (Italy) / Cristina Asensio (Spain) / Fabian Oettel (–) / Fábio Sousa (Portugal) / Franziska Opel (Germany) / Jacobo Jörgensen (Spain) / Johannes Langkamp (Germany) / Katrin Wölger (Austria) / Lara Gavriely (Israel) / Mat Lee (India)/ Ahn Phan Nguyen (Vietnam) / Philipp Höning (Germany) / Roland Wegerer (Austria) / Romy Arden Lanel (Israel) / Ronit Coulson (Israel)/ Sebastian Rivera Ruiz (Colombia) / Sepideh Raiesi (Iran) / Nina Silberhorn (Germany) / SinQuenza (Here and There) / Sr.d (Chile) / Virginie Moerenhout (The Netherlands) / Wolfgang Obermair (Austria) / Yris Blasco Rodrigo -yerreyese (Spain)