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PRESENTS:
September 26th - November 15th
A stone’s throw from Piazza Cadorna in the centre of Milan, in a restored paint factory, a new exhibition area called NNM.Gallery has been opened. While highlighting the role of the basic structure of the building, great emphasis has been put on the lighting. So, there where long ago paint impastos were chosen, today materials and fabrics are studied and tested. To inaugurate this alliance, NNM.Gallery presents FASHION[ABLE]. There are four main players: Vanda Catucci, Regina Gambatesa, Maki Kawakita and Olaf Martens.
Vanda Catucci has come up with a limited edition of dress-costumes for FASHION[ABLE]. Seven unique outfits in which crêpe and elasticized voile de crêpe are draped and interwoven forming shapes that envelop the precious jewels created by Regina Gambatesa. Vanda Catucci Limited Edition ’08 is a meeting of clothing and jewellery, a communion which gives rise to works of art playing on the dichotomy between sculptural volume and intangible lightness, between black and white and between material and shape. So, just like fabrics, metals and stones join to give volume to shapes and clothing to be worn – at the same time they can free the harmonious tie and give back live to the jewels. Vanda Catucci is a name which is highly esteemed by international swimwear. It has always been renowned for its research to find innovative materials and shapes and for the unusual use of special manufacturing which has never been used before in its sector. The jewel is a constant element in her collections. The uniqueness of her outfits is born from the possibility to remove the “bijoux” accessories in order to wear them separately from the clothes.
Regina Gambatesa creates jewellery, unique pieces which are veritable ornamental icons. The precious metals and stones recall the rituals which historically characterised the jewel and they are transformed into a means whereby one draws closer to one’s own inner self. Regina Gambatesa jewels are designed with a ‘meridian spirit’, that is, they are able to correlate the historical legacy, the individual imagination and the culture of belonging.
Born and bred in Tokyo, Maki Kawakita lives today in New York City, where she works in fashion and conceptual photography. Maki’s inspiration ranges from east to west and is transformed into something unique giving rise to the Hyper-real world of Japan with its different forms of cultural expression. Maki Kawakita presents exclusively for NNM.Gallery her exhibition “Makirama Confession II, Kuroko myself and I”. In her photos, inspired by the kabuki aesthetics, the traditional Japanese theatre, Maki Kawakita uses as a metaphor of her own conscience the figure of Kuroko, the actor’s assistant, a character who is invisible to the audience but who is vital for the success of the performance. It is a project which explores her deepest self and shows the different personalities that live within her, inviting the spectator to embark on the same process. It is a work in continual evolution and virtually infinite.
In his photography inspired by daily life, Olaf Martens, originally from Saxony, aims to unmask the fictitious character of myths and uses his caustic irony to bury contemporary stereotypes. By means of a post-modern eclecticism he combines elements which are usually incompatible to stimulate the viewer and make him question the different levels of reality. For FASHION[ABLE] Olaf Martens presents “The MiddleEastWestProject” a project in which, as he himself says, «the East is not the West and the centre is the point of balance». There are a series of shots set in the ex-Communist Germany, in Russia and in Spain. The locations are unusual: a bull ring, a zoological museum, a church used as a military training centre, a nuclear submarine and the kitschiest flea market in Europe. With his desecrating irony towards the fashion lifestyle, Olaf Martens uses the format of the fashion photo to highlight the contrast between beauty and decadence.
Curator: Johann Velit
Opening:
Monday - Friday 11am 7pm Saturdays by appointment.
Via Vincenzo Monti 28, 20123 Milan-Italy (MAP)
For
appointments: +39 023656 70 92 | email: info@noname-gallery.com
Press material: press@noname-gallery.com