RAVENNA.- In these unusual times and year, Dante Alighieri is celebrated in the city of Ravenna, Italy, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his passing by many disciplines and also contemporary art.
Throughout August, Ravenna is the scene for the site-specific installations by artist Aaron Nachtailer entitled "Mi Inferno / Tu Paradiso - Miraggio", a series of works that are being displayed alongside the city´s Unesco heritage sites.
Ravenna is the first stage of the Miraggio project. Following the exhibition at Battistero Neoniano, Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Miraggio will be presented in other sites and continue in Florence, Paris and Buenos Aires.
"Miraggio is a poetic and imaginative work - explain the organizers -. A translation, using the language of contemporary art, of Dante's vision: his journey into the bowels of the earth towards the southern hemisphere inverted, a world represented upside down". The work is transformed into poetic energy through mechanisms of the imagination, senses and spirit. The artist's goal is to maintain harmony with nature, so that the world follows its natural evolution. Nature as the center of the universe, in search of a new rituality.
Art in public spaces is key for an ever-developing, evolving culture: reflecting on society, adding meaning to places by highlighting their uniqueness, it has the power to act as a link between past, present and future, connecting disciplines and ideas. And so, green becomes "culture".
The project curated by Silvia Bettoli is promoted by Maison Random and was made possible thanks to the Archdiocese of Ravenna and Cervia, supported by the Banca del Monte Foundation of Ravenna and Bologna with the patronage of the Argentine Embassy in Italy.
Maison Random, founded in France, is a private institution for contemporary art as well as a private club to experience new ways of relating to it. The Ravenna headquarters - Palazzo Baronio - is one of the most impressive in the city. Built in the 1700s, first home to noble families, then Circolo Cittadino for over 100 years, now a place that welcomes guests from all over the world. www.maisonrandom.org
Aaron Nachtailer is one of the most talented contemporary artists in the international scene. In a deep search for a connection with himself, exploring ideas escaping conventional aesthetics, amidst sculptures and installations, his work highlights the search for a new spatiality, the use of natural materials, introducing primitive forms and distinctive elements. Born in Patagonia, he lives and works between Europe and America.