A story of the street art and pop culture in Naples from the ’80s to the present day. Back to PAN – Palazzo delle Arti in Naples an exhibition dedicated entirely to the movement that in the ’80s, thanks to the arrival of international artists in the neapolitan territory, established itself in the city of Naples. The idea comes from the intuition of the curator Andrea Ingenito that, after viewing the unpublished photographs of the famous photographer Luciano Ferrara, particularly active in those years, he decided to create a thread that connects the post-earthquake Naples, an excellent artistic center and the Naples of today, a city in continuous social and artistic evolution.
The exhibition is an itinerary that starts from the neapolitan period of Keith Haring (a way to celebrate his death thirty-one years ago) and the evolution of the phenomenon of street art and pop culture. More than 100 works will be exhibited: starting from the works of the ’80s by Keith Haring (including the famous Randi 88 – ink on paper -, the complete series White Icons, the Radiant Baby, a postcard/invitation entirely written and hand-drawn by Haring, the lithographs in black and white made for the exhibition catalog by Lucio Amelio), from important private collections, which will be interspersed with a room completely dedicated to the shots, for the first time exhibited at the exhibition, by Luciano Ferrara, who in those years has been able to well capture the artistic ferment of a city that becomes “capital of art”, images that become an evidence of the City Hall (historic nightclub), of the Trattoria dell’Oca, of the pizzeria Dante and Beatrice, active places of Neapolitan cultural life and meeting place of artists such as Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys, thanks to the famous neapolitan gallerist Lucio Amelio.
A historical-artistic itinerary that continues with two artists who were heirs of that extraordinary era. In fact, the works of the neapolitan pop artist Roxy in the Box, an eclectic artist who tells about her city with a critical and always vigilant eye, and who tells about its noises, smells, the emotional and moving Naples, the Naples of the neighborhoods, the popular Naples made of monsters and beautiful people and of protector Saints in maxi format, fit in perfectly. Languages and icons with a pop style and a street heart.
The story of the exhibition will end with the works of the Neapolitan street artist Trallallà, the one who paints out of “necessity” and for the community, with a unique sensitivity in revisiting the image of the female figure in the traditional Sirena Partenope, with a simple and sensual language perfectly legible in his Neapolitan “Ciacione”. He loves to share his art in relation with the territory and its inhabitants and makes those seeds that Keith Haring left in the city germinate.
To complete this exciting story has been included, out of the project, one of the most representative works of Banksy, “Choose Your Weapon”, in which the image of the iconic ‘Barking Dog’ on a leash Haring is re-proposed and reworked by the famous British artist.
An exhibition animated by sounds (two videos), colors, which will involve the visitor by immersing him totally into this artistic phenomenon that has been going on for over forty years.
The exhibition was organized by Arcadia, under the patronage of the City of Naples, the Assessorato alla Cultura di Napoli and PAN Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli, sponsored by Grimaldi Lines, Andrea Ingenito Contemporary Art, in collaboration with London, Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte, Media Partner Sii Turista Della Tua Città and with the technical contribution of Ribiciclo, Consulbrokers, Materie&Superfici, Home Mobili e Immobili.
