Journey Through Arte Utile and Avant-garde is Empathy
Research Residency and exhibition
Raum AU, Slovenj Gradec, May 23, 2024 to July 26, 2024
The “Journey Through Arte Utile” is organized by the non-governmental organization Raum AU, in collaboration with the Carinthian Gallery of Fine Arts and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. The research residency in the studio of Pino Poggi is a new concept for understanding the ideas and work of Pino Poggi. It is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and study of his extensive and complex body of work. In the first year, the project was explored by artists Tadej Pogačar and Tobias Putrih, followed by Vesna Bukovec and Ištvan Išt Huzjan in the subsequent year. This year, the journey begins with sculptor and intermedia artist Tomaž Furlan.
Tomaž Furlan on researching the archive of Pino Poggi and his useful art Arte Utile:
“What does avant-garde actually mean? This is the starting question for my installation as part of the Journey Through Arte Utile. Historically, it is clear: avant-gardes have been the driving force of social progress and platforms for exploring collective feelings, both aesthetic and political.
In reflecting on and formulating the installation, I focused on the importance of a broad reflection on social reactions. What is the role of art and the artist in processes of social change, and is the artwork a means of communication, a collective common point, or simply an object of desire?
If we are all Beuys’ artists, then there can be no barrier between the viewer and the artist. Their worlds are one, and interaction is inevitable. Avant-garde is empathy because it speaks of understanding the other, participation, and the need for collective work.”
The exhibition concluded on Friday, July 26, with an interactive de-installation with the artist.
Video of interactive de-installation of the exhibition