Dino Zoli Textile and Dino Zoli Foundation
present:
Lucia Bubilda Nanni
Profili cuciti di santità (Sewn profiles of holiness)
By Nadia Stefanel
Dino Zoli Foundation, Forlì
22 February – 19 April 2020
Inauguration: Saturday 22 February, 6pm
The bond between art and textile becomes stronger at the Dino Zoli Foundation of Forlì thanks to the solo exhibition of Lucia Bubilda Nanni “Profili cuciti di santità”, in partnership with Dino Zoli Textile, parent company of the Dino Zoli Group.
Inserted in the programme “Who’s Next”, conceived in 2018 to support and promote emerging creativity, the exhibition wll be inaugurated on Saturday 22 February 2020, at 6 pm. The artist will be joined by Nadia Stefanel (director of the Dino Zoli Foundation and curator), Monica Zoli (partner of Dino Zoli Textile) and Dino Zoli (CEO of the Dino Zoli Group).
Born in Ravenna in 1976, Lucia Bubilda Nanni “draws” with the sewing machine, through a controlled gesture that allows her to transfer what she sees to the needle, turning emotions into rationality.
The curator explains, “Making use of large canvases, as light as clothes hanging in the wind or mounted and taut like embroidery hoops ready to receive the needle once again, Lucia Bubilda Nanni tells the life of three female saints, part of a wider exploration dedicated to the hysteria/mysticism dualism. She calls them “Annotations” in reference to the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, she makes comparisons between absent bodies and present bodies: figures who have realistically modelled for her and who evoke absent physical bodies; a dialogue between physiognomies of people of our time taken as an example and biographies of women from the past. Three stories emerge, models of reference of spirituality and Christian mysticism that can have a two-fold meaning in bibliography, also connected to the contemporary world. Three paths generated by Lucia’s hands that guide the sewing machine, a steel tool, heavy and violent, eminently rational, which governs her emotions, guiding and controlling them”.
The artist explains, “I intuitively chose all the physiognomies with attention to the things that are closest to me: I found unexpected coincidences and complicit stories. An illusion, a game, a brain-teaser which I tried to rigorously conduct, interweaving readings and interpretations, interrogating history and the Saints in a private interview, but jumping with joy everytime I found traces and forms of them among the living”.
The exhibition presents some twenty large works dedicated to the lives of Mary of Egypt, Teresa of Avila and Rose of Lima. The artist centred her first work on the human body and she devised an immersive path, inside which life stories of the present and past will come to life. The visitor will find himself face to face with large vertical canvases and suspended bandages, all accessible from different sides. If the front is characterised by lines of sewn thread that overflow from the figure, the back – also interesting – hides an inextricable tangle of signs and colours. An untraditional set-up that will end with the works dedicated to Teresa of Avila in an interplay of light and shadow.
Legend has it that the mystic Mary of Egypt (Alexandria of Egypt, c 344-421) wandered for more than thirty years in the desert, clothed only in her long hair. She fled from her home at the age of 12 abandoning herself to a dissolute life, then became a nun and hermit, venerated as a Saint by the Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic Church. Teresa of Avila (Ávila, 1515 – Alba de Tormes, 1582) entered the convent at 20 after fleeing her home and after a tormented interior journey that led her to what she called her “conversion”. She became one of the most important figures of the Catholic Reform thanks to her activity as a writer and founder of the Discalced Carmelite nun and friars; she was also proclaimed the first female Doctor of the Church. Rose of Lima (Lima, 1586-1617), religious of the third Dominican order, rejected the customs of her wealthy family of origin, sharing her entire life with the suffering of her Indios brothers, marginalised and vilified because they were a different race and social status.
Monica Zoli explains, “Since 1972, Dino Zoli Textile has been conducting timely research on furnishing fabric, intuitively and creatively steered by Marco Zoli. The passion and curiosity, which accompany us in our work, drive us to widen the use of this material to other sectors, primarily the artistic one, which we feel very close thanks to the Dino Zoli Foundation, collector of cultural activities of the Dino Zoli Group. It is therefore a pleasure for us to partner the exhibition of Lucia Bubilda Nanni, inserted in the programme “Who’s Next”, which we hope can give visibility to the masters of tomorrow».
“Who’s Next” has also hosted the solo exhibition of Silvia Bigi (“L’albero del latte”, 2018), the collective “E Qui” (2019) in collaboration with the Fine Arts Academy of Bologna and several social cooperatives, and the exhibition of Elena Hamerski (“Duplex Natura” 2019), born from an artist in residence program assigned by Dino Zoli Textile within the scope of Arteam Cup 2018.
During the exhibition, Lucia Bubilda Nanni will hold the workshop entitled “Scudo d’amore. Breve indagine sul cuore” open to the classes of the lower and higher primary school. Wadding, canvas, needle and thread, to make a votive offering, an amulet, a shield together with the children.
The solo exhibition is open to the public until 19 April 2020, from Tuesday to Thursday 9.30 am – 12.30 pm, from Friday to Sunday 9.30 am – 12.30 pm and 4.30 – 7.30 pm, closed Mondays and public holidays.
For information and workshop registration: tel. +39 0543 755770, info@fondazionedinozoli.com, www.fondazionedinozoli.com.
Lucia Nanni, aka Bubilda, was born in Ravenna in 1976. Following her scientific diploma, she graduated in Philosophy from the University of Bologna. From a young age, she is taught to draw by an uncle who is a set designer. Following her degree, she decides to dedicate herself to painting and to the sign with more investment and to transfer to that space her love for study and research. Before becoming acquainted with the study of Maria Lai, she starts to work with the sewing machine, her preferred tool for many years. Her exhibitions include: “Piccole Meraviglie” (Daverio Library, Milan, 2016), “Lacrime” (Palazzo Rasponi, National Museum, Archbishop Museum, Ravenna; Varoli Museum, Cotignola, 2016), “Insetti” (S. Rocco Civic Museum, Fusignano, 2017), “Annotazione I” (Fashion Biennial, Civic Museums of the City, Ala Moderna, Rimini, 2017), “In su le piume” (Pamali Festival, San Boldo, 2017), “Gourmet” (Magazzeno Art Gallery, Ravenna, 2017), “Annotazione I e III” (Arte al Monte, Palazzo del Monte, Forlì, 2018), “Sul volto, di umani e insetti” (Furniture Fair, Milan, Orlandi Gallery “Ro Walks to ASAP”, 2018), “Annotazione II” (Drawing Biennial, Rimini, 2018), “Volti” (Lucca Art Fair, Magazzeno Art Gallery, Lucca, 2018), “A me gli occhi” (Rimini, 2018), “Le 9 GHe di Beethoven” (Atelier Davide Gatto, Milan, 2018), “Insect?” (Studio in Arte, Bologna, 2019), “Madame Gerbelle”, tribute to San Cristophe to madame Gerbelle, (Aosta, 2019), “Alibi” (Zuc, Florence, 2020), “Bocche Cucite” with Matteo Marchesini (Palazzo Rasponi delle Teste, Ravenna, 2020). She made the scene costumes for the band Negrita at the “Festival of Italian Song” (Sanremo, 2019). Her work, “Tumulto”, realised in association with the literary critic Matteo Mareschini, won the 22nd edition of the competition “Libri mai mai visti”, curated by the association VACA (Palazzo Rasponi delle Teste, Ravenna, 2019). Parallel to artistic research, she deals with fashion (two registered trademarks: Bubilda and Fili), costume and textile art. Since 2005, she has held workshops for children and teenagers that present a close relationship with philosophy, design, architecture, textile art and her personal research. She lives and works in Ravenna.
Dino Zoli Textile was established in 1972 by Dino Zoli who brings an unprecedented production system to the Forlì territory. Concern for the environment, intuition, strategic vision and predisposition to technological innovation have led the company to prosper both nationally and internationally: today, it exports to over 60 countries around the world and is recognised as a reliable, innovative partner that has made Made in Italy quality, timely service, refined materials and processing techniques its trademark. The company produces and sells furnishing fabrics: plain, jacquard, printed, outdoor, microfibre and technical fabrics in a vast range of colours, stored in the company’s warehouse in Forlì and available for prompt delivery. Production is mainly located in Italy with the use of a department equipped with warping machines and jacquard looms, as well as machines for printing, finishes and various ennobling processes. For over twenty years, Dino Zoli staff have been working in the Chinese branch to monitor the progress of production and quality: by also producing abroad articles created by the in-house Style Department, fabrics more suited to the industrial application are obtained whilst respecting the specific and exclusive nature of Dino Zoli. One part of production is intended for specific clients who require custom-made products with special technical-creative characteristics. In addition to the upholstered furniture and furnishing sector, the products are also proposed and sold in numerous other sectors that include Motorhome, Fashion and Accessories. The subsidiary, Dino Zoli Brasile, was set up twenty-five years ago and sells furnishing fabrics developed in Italy in Brazil and in the South American markets. The company’s extensive commercial network enjoys a widespread presence throughout the Brazilian countries and the operational headquarters is located in the state of São Paulo.
INFORMATION SHEET
Lucia Bubilda Nanni. Profili cuciti di santità
By Nadia Stefanel
Exhibition promoted by Dino Zoli Textile and the Dino Zoli Foundation
Fondazione Dino Zoli
Viale Bologna 288, Forlì
22 February – 19 April 2020
Inauguration: Saturday 22 February, 6 pm
Opening times: from Tuesday to Thursday 9.30 am-12.30pm, from Friday to Sunday 9.30 am -12.30 pm and 4.30 – 7.30pm, closed on Mondays and public holidays.
FOR INFORMAZIONI:
Dino Zoli Foundation
Viale Bologna 288, Forlì
Tel. +39 0543 755770
info@fondazionedinozoli.com
www.fondazionedinozoli.com
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