The works of three street artists in a widespread exhibition in Lucca bring urban art to the city

From May to October, Lucca will host Labirinto, an exhibition spread along a route that winds through the streets and squares of the center and in two indoor exhibition venues, curated by Gian Guido Grassi, promoted by Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca and Fondazione Lucca Sviluppo, with the contribution of the Council of the Region of Tuscany and the City of Lucca, and included in the ViviLucca 2023 program.

At the center of the installation, which will also offer unusual forms such as site-specific installations in historic niches on churches and palaces, are the works of three internationally known street art signatures: Moneyless, Sten Lex, and Tellas.

The exhibition is not only spread in space, but articulated in time. The first phase will see the works of Moneyless, Sten Lex and Tellas collected at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Lucca, from May 6 to June 25, 2023 (Tuesday to Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m., free admission). Art will then leave the Palace to fill the streets: in fact, the months of June, July and August 2023 will be punctuated by live performances and open-air installations and works in different places in the city: from the ramparts to the undergrounds of the city walls, the former Manifattura Tabacchi in Via Vittorio Emanuele, Porta di San Gervasio and Porta dei Borghi, but also the niches of churches and historic buildings are set to be colored with new hues. It will be an opportunity to make usually closed sites accessible, including the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi, restored with the contribution of the Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, a place of art and spirit: in September, the monumental naves will host achoral work by the artists involved, also opening to educational activities dedicated to schools, until October 15, 2023.

The title of the exhibition is inspired by the labyrinth, among the symbols of the city of Lucca: the labyrinth carved in stone on the right pillar of the facade of the Cathedral of San Martino. The installation comes in the wake of two other exhibitions located in a city exhibition itinerary: Deredia in Lucca. Cosmic Energy in the Sculptures of Jiménez Deredia, dedicated to the Costa Rican artist, and Pablo Atchugarry. The Awakening of Nature, dedicated to the Uruguayan sculptor, also curated by Gian Guido Grassi and the Association stART - Open your eyes, both produced by Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca and Fondazione Lucca Sviluppo, with the contribution of the City of Lucca.

Labirinto aims to broaden its gaze to new generations by inviting to exhibit young artists whose work is already internationally recognized: Moneyless, Sten Lex, Tellas have begun to express themselves on the street in the public context, bringing their aesthetic research to the margins of communities. The opening of the exhibition is preceded by a period of residency of the artists in Lucca, to immerse themselves in the city dimension, complete some works on site and develop a personal conversation between contemporary and historical.

In parallel with Labirinto, thanks to the project The Walls of Peace, promoted by the Council of the Region of Tuscany and the City of Lucca, Moneyless will be engaged in an urban regeneration intervention in the San Filippo neighborhood: here the artist will transform a playground into a work of art, painting the surface of the basketball and tennis courts and that of the playground.

“We need art. Beauty represents an irrepressible need of the human being, it unites and creates openings between centuries and bridges between distant places and different cultures. Within the historical city of Lucca, as new inhabitants, we encounter the works of these artists: contemporary presences that dialogue with the historical places of the city (such as squares, gates and walls) to expand the viewer’s gaze and give new light to known and sometimes forgotten places; with a view to a continuous discovery of the everyday, these works will be inserted in spaces and niches that have remained empty today,” says curator Gian Guido Grassi.

Image: Sten Lex Confini, Gibellina

The works of three street artists in a widespread exhibition in Lucca bring urban art to the city

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