Exhibition

When you dance you make me happy

When you dance you make me happy features 37 artists from Luciano Benetton contemporary art collection. The exhibition focuses on the human body: a vessel of existential struggle from which ingenuity and creativity flow. Dance is a metaphor that guides us on a journey beginning with introspection and leading to performative acts. The body moves, stops, resumes, and gains strength within a group, into a crescendo that passes from decadence to triumph.

13 September / 17 November 2019

Gallerie delle Prigioni - Treviso

curated by

Nicolas Vamvouklis

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artists

The show brings together sculptures, paintings, prints and videos by international artists. The starting point of the exhibition is the tension between inner and outer worlds, public and private realms, interpreted through the idea of the body as a shell that is both a home and a prison. The focus then broadens to the collective dimension and observes the performative roles the body plays in social gatherings of celebration, mourning or protest.

So, for example, “Soundsuits” – the iconic series in which American artist Nick Cave blends armor, ceremonial dress and couture fashion – becomes a symbol of autonomy and empowerment. Among the works on show are the cut-off Polaroids by Maripol “Eyes are the reflection of your soul”, which capture the gaze of celebrities, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s enigmatic portrait of fictitious figures in a timeless setting “Pass”. The research also explores narratives contained in the Imago Mundi Collection, such as Accra Shepp’s work “Shit Is Fucked Up and Bullshit”, which critically questions social movement participation in the digital age.

Finally, the exhibition considers the idea of traces: the physical but also immaterial remnants we leave behind us. The high-heeled shoes in the installation “Fela: Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen…” by Barkley L. Hendricks reference the symbolic polygamy of the Afrobeat pioneer and activist Fela Kuti.

The music-filled documentary “The Whole Gritty City” by Richard Barber and Andre Lambertson follows the marching bands of New Orleans and ultimately reveals the strength of an overlooked segment of society.

From the idea that collecting is both a creative act and an expression of care, the show offers an interpretation of the experiences contained within the personal collection of Luciano Benetton. The artworks in the exhibition pulse with an energy that visitors are invited to embrace and respond to with their own movement.

Inauguration Video

13 September / 17 November 2019

Gallerie delle Prigioni - Treviso

curated by

Nicolas Vamvouklis