PARAÌSO

By crossing the window you will see what lies beyond

International Contemporary Art exhibition

July, 23 - August, 3 2021

Concept edited by Art Curators:

Carola Antonioli - Graduated in Artistic Design, Master in Cultural Design

Giorgia Massari - Graduated in Cultural Heritage Sciences

Trithida Trising - Graduated in Arts, Master in Arts Management

The core elements of M.A.D.S Art Gallery's summer event are lightness, joy, and carefreeness. The freedom to relax, listen to ourselves, and be at peace with ourselves. All of them become protagonists in a historical moment in which we have been robbed of it. Unlike previous events, in which the gallery “commissioned” works from artists and asked them to adhere to a theme, M.A.D.S has decided to host an exhibition to commemorate the freedom that we are gradually rediscovering. As a result, the gallery encourages artists to find their own peace and consider what their own personal paradise is, what shape it takes, who lives there, or simply what sensation its presence entails.

In a society and a world where freedom has been deprived, where it is impossible to be who we really are due to either political considerations or simply the fear of being judged, M.A.D.S provides a safe zone where one is free to be who they really are. Freedom is celebrated in this exhibition in the sense of "freedom of speech," but even earlier as "freedom to think, perceive, elaborate, and experience" the artistic moment as freedom and personal intimacy. After all, what could be more blissful than being able to be yourself without being judged, restricted, or constrained?

M.A.D.S asks the artists to put aside what is best for others, for the society and for the era in which we live for a moment. Let us put aside the unsolicited suggestions, the whispered thoughts and the disguised looks of other people and ask ourselves what really makes us happy. Let us use this energy to find our own corner of peace and fill the canvas with freedom, realizing only what pleases us, and makes us feel ourselves. For some people, paradise can simply be a day spent with their departed loved ones, while for others it can be a break from daily life and the difficulties that come with it, and for others, it can be the tranquility and quietness of an empty house, where they are alone and can breathe. Some can associate paradise with places, such as a deserted beach or the peak of the mountain, while others believe that paradise is found between their beloved’s arms. Eventually, some may find peace in common sentiments or gestures, such as drinking a cup of coffee while watching the sunrise.

As it does with its users, M.A.D.S encourages artists to let go and drives them to freedom. The gallery is aimed at those millions of people who use the Internet and the network as a refuge from their daily lives, those who are unable to travel for different reasons, and those who simply seek a moment of peace within their days and find joy in art. Consequently, M.A.D.S creates an exhibition that generates connections between people, and an exhibition with the aim of sharing. Visitors will be able to get to know different ideas of an idyllic place and a happy moment. In this way, they will have the opportunity to take advantage of it or, why not, disagree with it. In this sense, the exhibition is both sharing and bearing multiple points of view at the same time, inevitably generating personal opinions, sparking discussions and above all prompting an individual observer to ask himself “What is freedom for me? What is freedom for others? Can I, and even more so, can we as human beings consider ourselves free?”

The wave of freedom that the event creates inspires the gallery’s creative direction to encourage the curators to share their own personal vision of paradise, in such a way as to disseminate and deliver a movement of freedom, reflecting on the major issues that nowadays the world is facing. Freedom has never been taken for granted for man and it is still not even today. As a result, it is crucial that it be reflected and interpreted in such a way that human rights are protected and other obstacles are to be overcome, at least in our minds.