EMI FONTANA ANNOUNCES HER SECOND WEST OF ROME PROJECT: MONICA BONVICINI NOT FOR YOU
July 26 – October 1, 2006
Public Opening July 26, 6-8PM
Press Preview July 26, 4-6PM
Thurs. through Sat. 11AM–6PM
Sun. 12–5PM & by appointment
West of Rome Inc.
The Shops on Lake Avenue
380 South Lake Ave. Ste. 210
CA 91101- Pasadena USA
Tel. 1 626 7931504
Fax 1 626 7931508
Email: westofromeinc@gmail.com
http://www.westofromeinc.com
A unique occasion to see a major installation of one of the most important European artists of her generation.
In 2005 Emi Fontana initiated West of Rome, a series of artists’ projects outside the physical location of her Milan gallery. The projects exist in a variety of venues according to the conditions specified by each of the invited artists. Monica Bonvicini’s Not for you follows the internationally acclaimed inaugural installment by Olafur Eliasson.
Bonvicini is preparing a site-specific installation for a retail space previously occupied by “Organized Living” that will incorporate earlier works and new productions. Dealing with the construction of sexual identity through the system of architecture has been a topic of her work, which is always connected within the relationship between space, gender and power. One of the most interesting aspects in Bonvicini’s work is her formal exploration of sculpture and its environmental display.
Her critique of minimalism focuses on the incorporation of its forms in the bourgeois aesthetic of everyday structures. Through a reflection on gender issues, often reinforced by biting humor, her work addresses the issues of “building”, both architectural and social. In this respect the space, which is on the second level of a commercial building, fits the Bonvicini aesthetic in a perfect way.
Bonvicini studied in Los Angeles at CalArts from 1991-1992. The city of Los Angeles played an important role in her education, and continues to inform her aesthetics. Born in Venice in 1965, she has lived between Berlin, Los Angeles and Vienna since 1986. In the fall of 2005 she received the most prestigious European prize of the Hamburgerbanhof, National Galerie, Berlin.
Bonvicini will represent Italy in the next Sao Paulo, Taipei and Guanjiu Biennials, and her work has been shown and collected by prestigious institutions including: Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Venice Biennale (1999, 2005); Berlin Biennale (1999, 2004); Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Shanghai Bennial, Shanghai Art Museum; Magasin, Grenoble; Kunstmuseum Aahrus; New Museum, New York; Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Tramway Glasgow; Secession, Vienna (with Sam Durant); 8th Istanbul Biennial (2003); CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco. (Complete biography available upon request)
For fifteen years, Galleria Emi Fontanta has functioned as an intensely programmed international exhibition space in Milan. From group exhibitions to one-person shows, the gallery has consistently sought to present challenging work.
Special thanks to David Wasserman
Wasserman Real Estate Capital LLC
CONTACT: Bettina Korek
310-962-0399 bettinakorek@earthlink.net
323-807-2254 / 39 02 58322237 39 02 58306855 emif@micronet.it
West of Rome Inc.
380 South Lake Ave.
Suite 210
CA 91101- Pasadena USA
Tel. 1 626 7931504
Fax 1 626 7931508
Email: westofromeinc@gmail.com
http://www.westofromeinc.com
Galleria Emi Fontana
Viale Bligny 42
20136 Milano Italy
Tel. 39 02 58322237
Fax 39 02 58306855
http://www.galleriaemifontana.com
