Fault Lines by Allora & Calzadilla is the first major solo exhibition of the work of the American artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla in Italy. The artistic duo that represented the United States of America at the 2011 Venice Biennale is known for their socially engaged videos, installations, sculptures and performances. Their work has been featured in many major exhibitions around the world. For their collaboration with Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Allora & Calzadilla conceived an exhibition that presents a selection of new and recent pieces that examine the concept of borders.
The exhibition takes place in the spaces of Palazzo Cusani, an extraordinary 17th Century palace in the heart of Milan, Italy, close to the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera. The Palazzo, normally used by the Army Command for Lombardy, is open for the first time to the world contemporary art. Allora & Calzadilla transformed the unique space into a succession of sounds, sculptures, performances, and images.
Allora & Calzadilla: Fault Lines / Fondazione Nicola Trussardi at Palazzo Cusani, via Brera 15, Milan (Itay). Opening, October 22, 2013.
PS: More videos on Allora & Calzadilla available here.
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Allora & Calzadilla: Fault Lines. Media Preview Version (16:59 min.):
In the courtyard of the palace, the visitor is greeted by their 2007 piece Sediments, Sentiments (Figures of Speech), an imposing sculpture in which opera singers perform passages from the most significant speeches of the 20th Century – from Martin Luther King to Nikita Khrushchev. The exhibition continues with the performance artwork Wake Up (Rising): on the staircase leading into the palazzo, a jazz trumpeter plays the military tune Reveille. Among the artworks that follow are two other performances: Allora & Calzadilla’s Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations of “Ode to Joy” for a Prepared Piano (one of their best known works), and Revolving Door. The latter consists of twelve dancers who through their choreographed movement form a human revolving door that lets the visitors walk through the room only by following the rhythm of the dancers.
Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla met on a study program in Florence (Italy) and began collaborating in 1995. Jennifer Allora was born in Philadelphia (USA) in 1974, Guillermo Calzadilla was born in Havana (Cuba) in 1971. They live and work in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
With the exhibition Allora & Calzadilla: Fault Lines, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi continues the mission to rediscover hidden treasures in the heart of the city of Milan through contemporary art. Since 2003, the foundation has staged major solo shows with artists such as Pawel Althamer, Maurizio Cattelan, Tacita Dean, Paul McCarthy, Tino Sehgal, and Pipilotti Rist.