Ten practitioners of urban art – the very artists invited to the Outdoor Festival, due to open 1st October in the stunning setting of the former barracks opposite the MAXXI museum in Rome’s Flaminio district – come to the city, starting at the Wunderkammern gallery. Here, in a show organised in conjunction with the Festival, the artists will present small-format works, pieces on canvas and paper, photographs, sculptures and installations.
In contrast with the large spaces of urban art, these works become micro-spaces in which the artists are invited to identify and push the boundaries of space and concept, be it private or public. Beyond is also the theme of the Outdoor Festival, which – now in its seventh edition – offers a packed programme of art and music, conferences and cinema throughout the month of October.
The Festival will feature some of the most influential and active figures on the urban art scene: AFK, whose anonymous work is known all over Europe; Xabier Anunzibai, aka Xabier XTRM, who uses a variety of mediums including murals, drawings and video; Italian skate photographer Alex Fakso, French illustrator and graffiti artist Honet (Paris, 1972), Italian graffiti writer Joys, Russian writers’ collective Kuril Chto, famous for their graffiti in Cyrillic script, typography artist Mobstr, video-maker Virgilio Villoresi, Spanish street artist Sebas Velasco and the multidisciplinary Sicilian artist Vlady.
We will see these artists again at the Outdoor Festival, where they will be linked with the Pavilions representing their nations, curated by representatives from some major international institutions such as the Asalto Festival in Zaragoza, the Street Art Museum in St. Petersburg, the Nuart Festival in Stavanger, Norway, and the Farm Cultural Park in Sicily.
WUNDERKAMMERN, 17 September – 6 October 2016
co-production with Outdoor Festival (October 1-30, 2016)
images (cover 1) Vlady – Border Line (2) Alex Fakso – 45 (3) Virgilio Villoresi – Open Yours Eyes, Close Your Eyes_6 (4) Wunderkammern goes beyond, opening.