"The Vespa in History and Art” is not just a tribute of the Vespa MACIST, Italian industrial myth, design icon and symbol of freedom and light-heartedness. The vision that underlies this project has a dual value in that an exhibition of an important selection of historic Vespas, from the late XNUMXs to the XNUMXs, is flanked by about forty exclusive works of art, created by important contemporary artists, most created specifically for this event. An original itinerary therefore precisely because it is of twofold interest: historical and artistic. The origins of the Vespa are closely linked to the city of Biella. It is in the Piedmontese city, in fact, that the Piaggio factories resided in the post-war period - as well as the technical projects office -, where the ancestor model of the Vespa was produced: the MP5, better known as the "Paperino". But the real prototype of the Vespa is the experimental model MP6, requested by Enrico Piaggio and designed by the aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, which was subjected to its first road tests on the very slope that leads from Biella to Oropa at the end of 1945.
The following 36 artists take part in the exhibition: Luca Alinari; Andy Fluon; Daniel Low; Nazarene Blond; Dario Brevi; Francesco Capello; Felipe Cardena; Cristiano Carotti; Gianni Cella; Jerome Ciulla; Nando Crippa; Roberto Curoso; Gianni Depaoli; Bruno Donzelli; Lorenzo Filomeni; Camillus France; Maurizio Galimberti; Tweety Garelli; Anna Maria Gelmi; Lady Be; Gabriele Lamberti; Marco Lodola; Danilo Marchi Nuti; Umberto Mariani; Luciano Molinari; Giancarlo Montuschi; Antonio Murgia; Hugh Nespolo; Francesco Pavignano; Plum cake; Omar Ronda; Anacleto Spazzapan; Vittorio Valente; Tiziana Vanetti; Paul Vegas; Robert Vote.
Each artist, through the language most congenial to him, whether it be painting, sculpture or photography, and through the use of the most diverse materials - from wood to marble, from plastics to iron, from aluminum to lead, from silicone to LEDs bright, etc. – interprets the Vespa according to his own sensations and suggestions. Now recalling the lines and shapes of the various models; now exploring the "personality" of the vehicle; now studying the environment in which it moves; now focusing on the figure of the vespista and analyzing his symbiotic relationship with the Vespa; now recalling famous advertising slogans; now working on the myth of the Vespa; and finally by proposing new objects: ironic, magniloquent, attractive and mysterious. In addition to the works of art, "The Vespa in History and Art" will offer a wide and important selection of historic Piaggio models, from the late 2018s to the 2018s, made available by the members of the Vespa Club of Biella. The exhibition catalogue, currently in preparation, will be published starting from March XNUMX. Mark Bertazzoli, XNUMX
The VESPA in HISTORY and ART MACIST Museum – Biella
January 13, 2018 ∙ June 30, 2018
