A spotlight can transform quite a bit with an economy of means, making something instantly visible, no matter how small or familiar. Post-winter sunlight can achieve a similar effect, which is why “The Spring Awakening” was an apt title choice for the program of exhibitions, openings, and performances organized around this year’s miart fair. Although everything under its purview was already on the urban map, miart’s new ventures made the local network of artists, institutions, and galleries look fresher and more energetic, signaling a positive shift within the cultural sphere. Milan’s contemporary art scene seems to be finally catching up with the success of the city’s annual furnishing design bash Salone Internazionale del Mobile, perhaps by emulating its three-part format: a serious fair to busy one’s self for half the day; a range of things to see about town for the other half; and a wide array of social gatherings. On Friday night at 1 a.m., when I stopped by at the Ulrico Hoepli Planetarium to see Stan VanDerBeek’s Cine Dreams: Future Cinema of The Mind (1972/2014)—an immersive installation of over 50 16mm films and slide projections presented for the first time in its entirety since its premiere—the queue outside …

Mario Garcia Torres is well acquainted with the past of Peep-Hole, one the newest non-profit spaces run by three curators in Milan. In fact, he not only alluded to it, but he also enhanced its weight. In a letter given to the visitor, the artist stated his wish to “create a certain atmosphere (…) an overall parenthesis, a space between time.” When entering the exhibition one has the impression of stepping inside a black-and-white film, for the presented works fit well within a palette of greys that is enhanced not only by the general darkness of the space, but also by a suave, constant melody that gives a peculiar tone to the whole place. “I Will Be With You Shortly” is the first solo show of Garcia Torres in Milan and – as suggested by its title – it is an exhibition that deals with deferral, anticipation, expectation, and waiting. Despite its lascivious name, Peep-Hole is located in a historical place: in the early 1990s, it hosted Massimo De Carlo’s first gallery which then became an artist’s studio until its most recent incarnation. The main room is very dim, only broken by two light sources. On the left, a ceiling lamp beams …