La Chimica dell’Arte

«That the nobility of Man, acquired in a hundred centuries of trial and error, lay in making himself the conqueror of matter, and that I had enrolled in chemistry because I wanted to remain faithful to this nobility. That conquering matter is to understand it, and understanding matter is necessary to understanding the universe and ourselves: and that therefore Mendeleev’s Periodic Table […] was poetry» – The Periodic Table, from the story Iron”

In 2019 a twofold scientific anniversary is celebrated: 150 years from the discovery of the periodic table of elements, conceived by the Russian chemist Dmitrij Ivanovič Mendeleev in 1869 and 100 years from the birth of Primo Levi, chemist and writer, author of the scientific-literary work “Il Sistema Periodico” (“The Periodic System”).
These recurrences are the leitmotif of the fifth edition of the BreraBicocca exhibition, entitled “La chimica nell’arte: i primi 150 anni della tavola periodica” (“The chemistry in art: the first 150 years of the periodic table”), which will be inaugurated on April 4th at 17:30, by room U6.07 (Ed. U6, P.zza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, Milano).
The exhibit will be opened by the greetings of the Rector, Cristina Messa, and by the project coordinators Eraldo Paulesu (Milano-Bicocca) and Stefano Pizzi (Accademia di Brera).

The Installation “Ri-trascrizioni”

Following, Antonello Fresu will introduce the installation “Ri-trascrizioni” (“Ri-transcriptions”), located next the auditorium in U6 building, which all guests are invited to contribute to.
“Ri-trascrizioni” are a series of installations and performances curated by Antonello Fresu, which has the ultimate goal of creating an artwork through the public attendance. The interactive installation comprises a desk, a lamp and an open book, near which another blank parchment is located, on which guests are invited to transcribe, faithfully and integrally, the various paragraphs of the original book. A small bookmark after the last copied word indicates the end of a transcription but also the starting point for the intervention of the following transcriber. In a final book, signatures, comments and impressions of the transcribers are collected.
The final opera is a book written “by hand” by many participants which alternates till the completion of the copying of the main book.
Handwritten words lights individual sensations and, at the same time, let participants contribute at the manufacture of an artistic artifact, in this case a book, strengthening the collective dimension of sharing a project.

“L’opera in un’epoca in cui la “velocità” del digitale condiziona sempre di più la nostra vita, offre un simbolico e poetico ritorno alla riflessione, grazie al recupero dei tempi ‘lenti’ dell’originaria manualità della scrittura”

BreraBicocca 2019 exhibition: La Chimica dell’Arte

The exhibition La Chimica dell’Arte, by the University of Milano-Bicocca will display the best students’ artworks of the Accademia di Brera.

Here, the artwork exposed:

BreraBicocca Awards

Following tradition, at the exhibition inauguration, on April 4 there will be the award ceremony of the best pupils who presented at the BreraBicocca 2018 exhibition Il sesto stato.

BreraBicocca 2018 Award – Pupils

The awarded pupils which presented at the Il Sesto Stato BreraBicocca 2018 exhibition are:

• Chiara Facciotti: Brera Bicocca Award conferred by the Rector
  “Le faremo sapere” 2018 200×100 cm.

• Jelena Milosevic: Big Size Art Award
  “Ossessione” 2018 80×240 cm Trittico olio su tela.

• Gu Yi Jun: Science of Materials department Award
  “Sesto Stato” 2018 70×100 cm Stampa digitale carta rosaspina.

• Davide Viggiano: Award from the public
  “Quale Futuro?” 2018 30x40x200 cm Installazione.

Extra Materials

Inauguration Program

Video of the event

The BreraBicocca Project is in collaboration with the Association BigSizeArt, Banca Generali and Fondazione Cariplo.