1st Edition of the Contemporary Rome Art Prize

International Contemporary Art Exhibition

July 19, 20, and 21, 2019

Artists: Emiliano Martucci, Marco Salvetti, Massimo Nobile, Marica Romano, Milena Carrisi, Yasmin Crawford, Mandisa Baptiste, Michela Mariani, Giulia Negrini, Cristina Smeraldi, Kevin Pierrat, Simona Correnti, Daniele Ruffini, Battista Doneddu, Enrico Tubertini, Alessandra Mercurio, Dayana Sharon Marconi, Mahmoud Elkouriny, Josie Purcell, Ennio Zangheri, Luca Idili, Maurizio Bellinzas, Michele Ruta

Curated by: Ilaria Giacobbi

This exhibition is part of the #Contemporary art project, originally presented at the third edition of Rome Art Week 2018 (RAW).

Conceived and curated by art historian Ilaria Giacobbi, this group exhibition highlights the vibrant contemporary art scene while simultaneously serving as a socio-anthropological exploration of art—viewed as a reflection and manifesto of its era.

Lost in the frenzy of the present: what is art today?

LIFE ITSELF IS ABSOLUTE ART (Y. K.)

What does it mean to be an artist in the present day? Humanity has always—and will always—feel the need to leave traces of itself behind (art history is called upon to bear witness to this, across time and within time).

Today, a domino effect has been set in motion: the experience of art is becoming elitist, and the role of "artist" is being bestowed upon those who—like diligent factory workers—produce (serial) works not in a studio, but in a factory.

The container (museum or gallery) and the content (the artwork)—engaged in a dialectical process of compensation rather than opposition—must foster a dialogue between art and architecture. For the goal of exhibitions (...) is to help the public understand that the works on display—whether ancient or modern—are part of their own lives and visual culture; to show that tradition is a constantly renewing reality, carried into the present by modern artists who add their own creations to it every day; and to convey that the challenge of maintaining coherence between society and art persists across every era.

Art is emotion, love, passion, and chemistry; it is the coexistence of opposing forces—rationality and surrealism. The artist’s task is to observe, note, write, and represent the PHENOMENON (as well as the NOUMENON), translating it through the universal language of Art.

Art resides in the appearance of the finished works—for to deny this would be to deny style, technique, talent, and mastery (concepts that transcend subjective notions of beauty)—but it also resides in the idea, the word, or the thought process behind the work’s creation.

#CONTEMPORARY is a group exhibition conceived with the ambition of highlighting the ferment of the contemporary art scene—offering a cross-section of it (with themes as free as the expression itself). Conceived to tell the story of our contemporary era, it is grounded in diversity. ...and through opposites (sometimes mirror images that attract one another), the artworks engage in a dialogue within the exhibition space.

When everything in art has already been said (yet anyone can say it), we look for the unspoken—

Naturally: #HASHTAG!

Coinciding with the group exhibition, the project will be presented and the featured artists interviewed on the TV program ARTE 24—a show dedicated to culture, broadcast on Rete Oro (Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 11:00 PM, and Tuesdays at 11:30 PM).

Vernissage: July 20, 2019, starting at 7:30 PM