The only artist to represent Italy at the Venice Bienniale 2022, Gian Maria Tosatti is back in the spotlight again with a new project for the HangarBicocca. In the spaces of the Shed, large installations explore the themes of collectivity and memory in dialogue with the Zeitgeist, the “spirit of the time”, suspended between catastrophe and transformation. Conceived as mirrors, the works of Tosatti are open questions that personally challenge the visitor. Invited by the curators of the Hangar to develop a retrospective, the artist created new installations that represent the synthesis of his research over recent years. In NOw/here, there is an echo of works which were acclaimed by the public and critics, from Testamento – Devozioni X of 2011 to the more recent Episodio di Odessa (2020) and Storia della Notte e Destino delle Comete, protagonist of the Italian Pavilion at the last Venice Bienniale. The reality of our times is revealed in every piece, as suggested by the title of the exhibition - NOw/here - which has a double meaning, “here and now” or simply “nowhere”. Thus, Tosatti invites us to look at history, not as a chain of events, but as sentiment, depicting the moment in which we’re engaged.
A journey through time, both real and virtual, takes shape in the public park of Porta Venezia, thanks to a spectacular immersive experience dedicated to Planet Earth.
