Mutina participates in the 50th edition of Arte Fiera with a special exhibition project dedicated to Maurizio Cattelan titled BECAUSE.
Interpreting once again in an alternative way the invitation to collaborate as a partner of the Fair, Mutina decided to get involved with Cattelan’s complicity. The project BECAUSE is an unexpected dialogue between two works by the artist—Untitled (Zorro) from 1999 and It from 2023—which together trigger a short-circuit, amplified by the space that houses them.
It was far back in 1991 when Maurizio Cattelan decided to “infiltrate” Arte Fiera and participate through an unauthorised booth. On the occasion of this thirty-third anniversary in Bologna, Mutina is pleased to contribute to the fair by creating the stage for another appearance by the artist.
An apparently guilty cat sits to the side of an assertive abstract painting. They are both fleeing the scene.
Their presence addresses the ambivalence between action and punishment. Who is responsible? And what is the charge?
They are both heroes and outlaws, cheered but blameworthy, defiant yet human, amusing while still ambiguous.
BECAUSE is a short-circuit that becomes a tale of broken rules.
BECAUSE speaks of rebellion and atonement, of valiant troublemakers and radical fragility.
BECAUSE celebrates escaping or turning away instead of providing answers.
BECAUSE mixes righteous and losers and it leaves us amused, embarrassed, complicit.
BECAUSE turns myths into paradoxes and certainties into riddles. BECAUSE reveals the scratches and hiding places of our consciousness.
BECAUSE reminds us that authority is a limit, expectation is a burden, contradiction is an antidote.
Conceived by Sarah Cosulich, curator of Mutina for Art, the project BECAUSE is characterised by a special display in which protagonist is the ceramic collection Fringe, designed for Mutina by Michael Anastassiades.
From February 26, the exhibition travels to Spazio Mutina (Fiorano Modenese, MO) and can be visited by appointment until the 8th of August 2024.
To book a visit, write to: mutinaforart@mutina.it.
Maurizio Cattelan
BECAUSE
A project by Mutina for Art
Curated by Sarah Cosulich
With a display by Michael Anastassiades
Arte Fiera Bologna
Pavillion 25 Stand A19
2–4 February 2024
Spazio Mutina
Fiorano Modenese (MO)
26 February – 8 August 2024
Maurizio Cattelan, Untiltled, 1991, acrylic on canvas, 110x110x7 cm, collection Massimo Orsini, courtesy the artist and MASSIMODECARLO.
Maurizio Cattelan, It, 2023, Belgian black marble 37x19x41,5 cm, collection Massimo Orsini courtesy the artist and Perrotin.
Michael Anastassiades, Fringe, 2023, Mutina ceramic tile collection.
