“Finding myself in front of the works of Goldschmied & Chiari was like entering a theater, in a magical box in which everything is possible”
Mimmo Miccolis
MAGNIFICA
The Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC, and International Arts & Artists, in collaboration with Cody Gallery at Marymount University, organized the closing of “Magnifica”, Goldschmied & Chiari’s first solo show in Washington DC.
The artist duo and Mimmo Miccolis, Choreographer of the Washington Ballet, were at Cody Gallery to unveiled a screendance performance inspired by the exhibition, directed by Carola Mamberto.
Also named “Magnifica”,the video is a connection between the artworks made from Murano glass and colored smoke bombs, and contemporary dance, couture fashion, and pulsing music. The fusion of these mediums together translates into a four-minute screendance performance, both intoxicating and playful at the same time.
Curated by Allison Nance, the exhibition “Magnifica” featured a new series of “Untitled Views”, the artists’ signature works experimenting with editing colored smoke flares into artificial landscapes, and then fusing them with mirrored glass in a very particular printing process. Almost as in a dialogue with the anthropomorphic shapes of tailored Murano vases, these playful pieces of art merge genres of performance art, studio-based photography, portraiture, and pop, subtly changing according to the surrounding space and the viewer’s perspective.
Sara Goldschmied and Eleonora Chiari are based in Milan, Italy, and have been working together since 2001. Their works are included in numerous collections including, the Castello di Rivoli (Turin, Italy), the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudegno (Turin, Italy), MUSEION (Bolzano, Italy), The Capital Group (Los Angeles), and the Maison Bernard Anthonioz (Paris, France) among others.
Magnifica was funded by a grant from the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism under the 2019 Italian Council Program.
MAGNIFICA
A screendance performance
Choreography: Mimmo Miccolis
Curators: Emanuele Amendola and Allison Nance
Producer/Director: Carola Mamberto
Dancers: Michaele Glouchkova, Harry Warshaw and Anna Cole
Director of Photography: Umit Gulsen
Editor: Carola Mamberto
Original Music: Masterfrenc
Costumes: SERIENUMERICA
Gaffer: William Iversen
Grip: Mat MacIntyre
Photo: XMBphotography
GOLDSCHMIED & CHIARI
Milan-based artists Sara Goldschmied (b. 1975, Arzignano) and Eleonora Chiari (b. 1971, Rome) have been working together as the artist-duo Goldschmied & Chiari since 2001. Sara and Eleonora met in the late 1990s through a shared interest in photography and feminism activism, which soon led to joint art projects and a remarkable two-decade long partnership. They have earned widespread respect and recognition, both in Italy and internationally, through their innovative use of photography, video, performance, and installations. Much of their work draws conceptually from philosophy, social studies, and their historical Italian background. Their dynamic of working as a duo fundamentally impacts their approach to every project. They state that their most essential tool “…is our relationship as an artist duo because it feeds our art practice, for example, so that we see multiple sides of one issue.”
MIMMO MICCOLIS
Italian-born Mimmo Miccolis is a neoclassical and contemporary teacher and choreographer at The Washington Ballet. Nominated for the “Italian excellence in dance” at the 2019 Gala of the Italian Cultural Society of Washington (ICS), Miccolis was the winner of the “Outstanding Choreographer Award” at the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) Finals 2015 in New York City, at the Indianapolis International Ballet Competition 2017, at the Washington DC Grand Prix 2021 and at the YAGP Pittsburgh Semifinals 2016. In 2011, he was also a recipient of the BBC Performing Arts Fund in London, UK.
In the last years several of his choreographic creations received awards in dance competitions across Europe and the US.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL ARTS & ARTISTS
International Arts & Artists is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally through exhibitions, programs, and services to artists, arts institutions, and the public.
ABOUT CODY GALLERY
Cody Gallery is a contemporary art space created as a platform to support the arts and strengthen the arts community at Marymount University and the greater Washington, DC area. Exhibitions present work by local, regional and international artists in order to provide groundbreaking and thought-provoking work for the community to experience. Events, including artist talks and lectures, are available for students at Marymount University and the general public at large.
From Mimmo Miccolis
“Finding myself in front of the works of Goldschmied & Chiari was like entering a theater, in a magical box in which everything is possible, in which you see yourself, you examine yourself as you would never do in any other place. There are many links between Goldschmied & Chiari’s works and the world of dance. One of the most important is the close connection with the mirror. The choreography MAGNIFICA is in front of, through and inside the mirror.
The challenge for me was to translate the hymn of Isis, which dates back to the second century BC, into a language that would speak to the present. An hymn that celebrates femininity in all its forms. A hymn that comes from the past that is so relevant even two centuries later.
I have always strongly believed in the power of collaborations in the art world and I am extremely happy I had the opportunity to cross paths with the apparently still work of Goldschmied & Chiari. I say “apparently still”, because differently from the art that we usually see, Goldschmied & Chiari’s work changes every time a different person is in front of it. You end up finding yourself inside the work. This dynamism creates a special connection between my art and the art of Goldschmied & Chiari.
The message I want to convey is always what pushes and motivates me to give my best when I create a choreography. I explained the message of the choreography MAGNIFICA to the dancers before starting rehearsals. They loved the idea and the message of the choreography and were excited to interpret a piece that would allow them to represent the meaning of looking yourself into the mirror in modern society.
Together with the artists, the costume designers, the composer of the music and the video director, we worked closely to create an impactful and modern piece of art that can be relevant today and that, while being watched, can help each member of the audience find a piece of themselves. “
– Mimmo Miccolis –
