"A due”. Arte Contemporanea in Italia e Belgio

The project “a due”. Arte Contemporanea in Italia e Belgio (“in twos”. Contemporary Art in Italy and Belgium) took place at the Italian Cultural Institute of Brussels from November 2015 to March 2018. Conceived and curated by artist Laura Viale with the contribution of the art historian Maria Elena Minuto, “a due” involved Italian and Belgian artists coming from different experiences and generations in a series of “dialogical exhibitions”: Davide Bertocchi (Modena, 1969) and Joris Van de Moortel (Ghent, 1983), Enrico Gaido (Turin, 1971) and Freek Wambacq (Brussels, 1978), Margherita Moscardini (Donoratico, 1981) and Futurefarmers (Belgium-USA, collective founded in 1995), Laura Viale (Turin, 1967) and Stijn Cole (Ghent, 1978), Raffaella Crispino (Naples, 1979) and Hans Demeulenaere (Ostend, 1974), Alberto Scodro (Marostica, 1984) and Paul De Vree (Antwerp, 1909-1982), Serena Fineschi-Alessandro Scarabello (Siena, 1973 and Rome, 1979) and Hans Op de Beeck (Turnhout, 1969).
The combination of seemingly diverse artistic worlds generated an “unexpected artistic coagulation of circumstances”. In the essay by Luk Lambrecht (artistic coordinator CC Strombeek / Museumcultuur Ghent) this is the starting point for a reflection on mutual encounters as the essence of cultural praxis. Laura Viale’s words trace the story of the “a due” project. The critical texts by Maria Elena Minuto (ENAG, KU Leuven) describe the seven exhibitions arising from these “artistic encounters”.