The Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC, and International Arts & Artists, in collaboration with Cody Gallery at Marymount University, organized the closing of "Magnifica", Goldschmied & Chiari’s first solo show in Washington DC.
On Friday, December 3rd, artist duo and Mimmo Miccolis, Choreographer of the Washington Ballet, were at Cody Gallery to unveiled a screendance performance inspired by the exhibition, directed by Carola Mamberto.
Also named “Magnifica”, the video is a connection between the artworks made from Murano glass and colored smoke bombs, and contemporary dance, couture fashion, and pulsing music. The fusion of these mediums together translates into a four-minute screendance performance, both intoxicating and playful at the same time.
Curated by Allison Nance, the exhibition “Magnifica” featured a new series of “Untitled Views”, the artists’ signature works experimenting with editing colored smoke flares into artificial landscapes, and then fusing them with mirrored glass in a very particular printing process. Almost as in a dialogue with the anthropomorphic shapes of tailored Murano vases, these playful pieces of art merge genres of performance art, studio-based photography, portraiture, and pop, subtly changing according to the surrounding space and the viewer's perspective.
Sara Goldschmied and Eleonora Chiari are based in Milan, Italy, and have been working together since 2001. Their works are included in numerous collections including, the Castello di Rivoli (Turin, Italy), the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudegno (Turin, Italy), MUSEION (Bolzano, Italy), The Capital Group (Los Angeles), and the Maison Bernard Anthonioz (Paris, France) among others.
Magnifica was funded by a grant from the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism under the 2019 Italian Council Program.
DOCUMENTARY "Behind the Performance" (via Facebook)
Performance (via Facebook)
GOLDSCHMIED & CHIARI
Milan-based artists Sara Goldschmied (b. 1975, Arzignano) and Eleonora Chiari (b. 1971, Rome) have been working together as the artist-duo Goldschmied & Chiari since 2001. Sara and Eleonora met in the late 1990s through a shared interest in photography and feminism activism, which soon led to joint art projects and a remarkable two-decade long partnership. They have earned widespread respect and recognition, both in Italy and internationally, through their innovative use of photography, video, performance, and installations. Much of their work draws conceptually from philosophy, social studies, and their historical Italian background. Their dynamic of working as a duo fundamentally impacts their approach to every project. They state that their most essential tool “...is our relationship as an artist duo because it feeds our art practice, for example, so that we see multiple sides of one issue.”
ABOUT MIMMO MICCOLIS
Italian-born Mimmo Miccolis is a neoclassical and contemporary teacher and choreographer at The Washington Ballet. Nominated for the “Italian excellence in dance” at the 2019 Gala of the Italian Cultural Society of Washington (ICS), Miccolis was the winner of the “Outstanding Choreographer Award” at the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) Finals 2015 in New York City, at the Indianapolis International Ballet Competition 2017, at the Washington DC Grand Prix 2021 and at the YAGP Pittsburgh Semifinals 2016. In 2011, he was also a recipient of the BBC Performing Arts Fund in London, UK.
In the last years several of his choreographic creations received awards in dance competitions across Europe and the US.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL ARTS & ARTISTS
International Arts & Artists is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally through exhibitions, programs, and services to artists, arts institutions, and the public.
ABOUT CODY GALLERY
Cody Gallery is a contemporary art space created as a platform to support the arts and strengthen the arts community at Marymount University and the greater Washington, DC area. Exhibitions present work by local, regional and international artists in order to provide groundbreaking and thought-provoking work for the community to experience. Events, including artist talks and lectures, are available for students at Marymount University and the general public at large.
