Marina Abramović at Castel dell'Ovo, Naples

VanitasClub puts Culture first, investing in the extraordinary Estasi exhibition, which arrives in Naples from September, the 18th. An important artistic experience, to help the Country reawaken after the Covid emergency, thanks to the Beauty of Teresa of Ávila, the subject of Marina Abramović's performances. The Artist will not be present at the exhibition.

Despite the period of great uncertainties for cultural activities, VanitasClub announces the arrival of this important artistic project, with the aim of contributing to the restart of the country. VanitasClub, with the collaboration of Naples’ Culture and Tourism Municipality Department and the curatorship of Casa Testori, brings the “Estasi” exhibition to Castel dell’Ovo, Naples’ oldest standing fortification, symbol of the city in the whole world. This castle, whose name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, will host an exhibition by Marina Abramović, the Grand Mother of performance art, an artist that is already familiar with the city of Naples, where she held the historic Rhytm 0 performance at the Studio Morra Gallery 46 years ago. The new exhibition, despite being greatly different, is intended to surprise and touch the visitors just as equally.

"Italian people are showing great courage, great feeling for community and humanity. Italy, I love you. And my heart is with you.” said the Serbian performance artist to support our Country during the Covid emergency. The Naples exhibition is an opportunity that goes precisely in this direction and will be organized and opened in full compliance with the government and security provisions foreseen during the post-emergency recovery phase. The experience will be set up in Sala delle Carceri, a room that had been used over time as a prison for the castle, and it is made up of the video cycle called "The Kitchen. Homage to Saint Therese ", a very significant work in which Marina Abramović relates to one of the most important figures of Catholicism, Teresa of Ávila. The experience is made of three maxi videos, which document as many performances made by the artist in the former convent of La Laboral in Gijón, Spain, in 2009. The exhibition, together with the location and the spectacular set-up, will contribute to the making of an incredible experience.

“We are honored to welcome back the great international artist Marina Abramović, that here in Naples made one of her most popular performances in the Seventies. Culture will be fundamental to retrieve the fullness of life after this global emergency. We believe it is very important to invest today in order to foster a serene future.” states Luigi de Magistris, mayor of Naples.

"We want to announce, with the advance that we believe such an important event for out city deserves, the arrival of an exhibition by Marina Abramović that honors Teresa of Ávila. “Estasi” is an international exhibition with an extraordinary emotional value that compares two women that belong to different centuries and that are characterised by an intense humanity. This, in a moment of great suspension like the one we are experiencing, suggests an almost mystical and very emotional experience. It is an exhibition that we want to give to our city as it is slowly starting to reawaken. An awakening that, of course, is taking place  in accordance with the government orders, but whose main lines we want to start drawing by presenting this project that is in itself an invitation to rediscover our territories and its  exceptional cultural offer. Thanks to Vanitas Club, Naples and southern Italy will be able to host this exceptional exhibition.” states Eleonora de Majo, Councilor for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Naples.

« The art of Marina Abramovic returns to Naples, a city close to her thanks to her relationship with the Lia Rumma Gallery. A partnership that confirms the centrality of the Neapolitan city in the contemporary art system. In the spaces located in via Gaetani the artist had presented an exhibition titled after another of her famous performances, "Cleaning the Mirror". On that occasion she exhibited the photos and the works that she had made the year before, when she returned for the first time to Belgrade, her hometown.», explains Giuseppe Frangi from Casa Testori, curator of the exhibition.

“What we have been living during these months will stick with each one of us. We have been surrounded by terror, despair and ugliness. Our Country is now reawakening and we decided to contribute to this important moment by investing, even in this difficult moment, in the production of an exhibition capable of combining beauty and reflection. Teresa of Ávila’s open arms, represented by Marina Abramović, and the absence of sounds in the artist’s artworks are a tribute to this Country. They indeed represent embrace and silence, two themes that this pandemic has imposed in our lives. The Beauty that we believe our Country needs in this reawakening time is represented also by Naples, a city that well embodies such concept.” states Edoardo Filippo Scarpellini, Vanitas Club.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

When: from September, the 18th, 2020

Where: Castel dell'Ovo, Naples

Ticket: from 9€

Telephone: 02 9296 5790 / Whatsapp +39 333 1704695