Belgium – Italian Cultural Institute sets to host the second edition of ‘A due’

On 12 January, the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels will inaugurate the exhibition “What We Can Use, What We Can’t Move” by Raffaella Crispino and Hans Demeulenaere that will mark the start of the second edition of ‘A due’, a contemporary art event presenting Italian and Belgian artists that have been active in the art scene from 1990 to 2015. The project, conceived and curated by Laura Viale and Maria Elena Minuto, intends to promote a creative dialogue between Italian and Belgian artists from the 1990s to date, also including also younger artists. ‘A due’ is organized into a series of events that will span across the whole year. Its programme will feature exhibitions, performances and meetings highlighting the value of keeping dialogue alive between artists of different cultures, experiences, and ages. Every Italian artist invites a Belgian artist with whom he/she feels akin or at odds. The artists that exhibited between November 2015 and June 2016 were: Davide Bertocchi (Modena, 1969) and Joris Van de Moortel (Gand, 1983), Enrico Gaido (Turin, 1971) and Freek Wambacq (Bruxelles, 1978), Margherita Moscardini (Donoratico, 1981) and Futurefarmers (Belgium-USA, a collective set up in 1995), Laura Viale (Turin, 1967) and Stijn Cole (Gand, 1978). ‘What We Can Use, What We Can’t Move’ by Raffaella Crispino and Hans Demeulenaere is an ironical analysis on the limits and opportunities offered by the exhibition area of the Italian Cultural Institute. The exhibition originates from the artists’ photo archives that they used as a starting point to develop their works. By critically reviewing the ‘display in art’ and the ‘art of displaying’, Crispino and Demeulenaere reflect on the critical and linguistic reasoning forming the base of contemporary curatorial and exhibition methodologies. A selection of the material produced and archived by the artists unfolds a complex story made up of images, objects, sculptures and installations, which clearly shows their research work and creative experience.