15.04 – 14.06.2003
DONATELLA DI CICCO E ANNALISA SONZOGNI – Mirage
curated by Raffaele Gavarro
Mirage presents the work of two young artists who use photography in different ways, with different aims, demonstrating the flexibility of the medium in approaching a wide range of expressive possibilities.
Donatella Di Cicco was born in 1971 in Naples, where she lives and works. She creates veritable sets in which people perform utterly normal actions in decidedly abnormal situations and environments. The series of so-called abandoned places is already quite well-known – destroyed shopping centers, abandoned suburban supermarkets, junkyards – in which one or more persons make a gesture or carry out an activity as if everything were perfect, new, functioning.
In this show Di Cicco presents Dolls, a new series of portraits of young girls posing and dressed as aspiring models. These are images of teenagers resembling those who wait patiently in line at auditions for television programs. Framed in the cold light of marine or rural landscapes that make everything even more alienating, the Dolls represent the dream of fame and wealth of a generation inspired by, and raised on, mass media.
Annalisa Sonzogni was born in Sarnico (BG) in 1974 and lives in Milan. Her photography is intimate, attempting to catch atmospheres, glimpses and situations the eye usually overlooks. One of the latest series of images, entitled Private, investigates the interiors of apartments, stealing private moments of places and people. But the viewer doesn’t feel like a voyeur, thanks to the presence of a delicate, discreet feeling of belonging.
In this show Sonzogni presents a new series of works, entitled Interiors. These are nocturnal landscapes in Milan, images held in a delicate balance between the softness of an unreal light and the rigid geometry of architecture, around which the photographs are formally constructed.
Donatella Di Cicco: solos shows in 2002 at Dryphoto Arte Contemporanea, Prato; 1999 “Il castello delle bambole”, Castello di Sasso Corbaro, Bellinzona, Switzerland. Selected group shows: 2003 “Prototipi.02”, Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, Rome, curated by S. Chiodi and B. Pietromarchi; 2002 “Periscopio 2002 – rassegna di giovani artisti”, Galleria Gruppo Credito Valtellinese, Milan, curated by P.Campiglio; “Festa dell’Arte 2002-Inedito”, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Rome, nominated by E. Nobile Mino and winner of the first prize ex-aequo; “Tre artisti in barca”, Pio Monti, Rome, curated by R. Gavarro; “Venezia immagine 15 giovani fotografi italiani”, Giardini di Castello, Venice, curated by F. Maggia; “Blind date”, Viafarini, Milan, curated by A. Galletta; 2001 “6° Internazionale fototage Herten vision of Europe“, Herten, Germany; “Arte Viva 2001”, Senigallia, winner of the 10th European Festival of Senigallia (AN); 2000 “Progetto Maionese –Soap Opera 2000” En plain air, Turin, curated by L. Beatrice and A. Galletta; 1999 “European AGFA Digital Portrait Award”, Palau Sant Marcal, Barcelona; 1998 “Fotoesordio”, Università di Tor Vergata, Rome; and “Modena per la fotografia”, Galleria Civica di Modena, curated by O. Corradini.
Annalisa Sonzogni: solo shows in 2002 at the Galleria Amste in Lissone (with F. Sena), and Dryphoto Arte Contemporanea of Prato. Selected group shows: 2002 “Bye bye baby” at Galleria Giancarla Zanutti, Milan, “Viasatellite” curated by A. Galletta at the Mercati Traianei in Rome; “Passaggio di testimone” Italian Pavilion, Gardens, Venice, curated by F. Maggia, “Lavori in corso”, private home in Milan, curated by R. Pinto. 2001 “6° Internazionale fototage Herten vision of Europe”, Herten, Germany; “Conception ‘01” New York University, N.Y., and “Giovane fotografia italiana”, Galleria Civica di Modena, curated by F. Maggia. In 1999 she participated in the “Savignano-Arles competition” at Palazzo Vendemini in Savignano (1st prize); and the “European AGFA Digital Portrait Award”, Palau Sant Marcal, Barcelona. In 1998 “Fotoesordio”, Università di Tor Vergata, Rome. 1997 “Giovanichesiraccontano” at the Milan Triennale; “Prima Biennale di fotografia” at Trevi Flash Art Museum (1st prize ex-aequo). 1995 “International Exhibition of Art Colleges Hiroshima ‘95” at the Museum of Modern Art of Hiroshima, Japan.
