Now in its fourth edition, ArtDate is a unique opportunity to discover the city of Bergamo and its territory through contemporary art.
The Blank devotes ArtDate 2014 – Dialogo nel Tempo to the relationship between contemporary art and ancient art, as a tribute to the reopening of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo .
Two pieces of news for this edition of ArtDate 2014: Open Factory – visits to business realities who are dedicated to art and culture – and Once Upon a Time – itineraries around the symbolic historic sites of Lombard art in the city of Bergamo and surroundings. For ArtDate 2014, The Blank has enhanced the interaction with the territory through initiatives that testify the local attention to the art world with a full program of inaugurations, performances and workshops opened to the public.

On Friday 17, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May, The Blank organizes the third edition of ArtDate, the annual event dedicated to contemporary art, able to open the doors of an entire city to Contemporary.
All members of The Blank network participate actively through the organization of openings, lectures, guided tours and special events through the most significant places of Bergamo.
In addition to the renewed passport of art, The Blank gives life to the project The Blank Board, a window to know artists in their studios, through a series of dedicated interviews, during the days of ArtDate.

To celebrate its fifth anniversary The Blank begins an important collaboration with Stefano Arienti. Thanks to his generosity it was possible the creation of an original work made by 48 unique pieces, signed and numbered.
Every work is one piece of a bigger image that will be recomposed during a dinner party in the frame of the Museum ALT of Alzano with the presence of the artist.

The work (48×48 cm) reworks the famous series of posters realized in 1989 by the artist with pieces of puzzle.

Project Proposal Residency is an artist residency project.

The purpose of the project is to give hospitality to Italian and international artists for a short/medium period and offer them accommodation and relations aimed to develop artistic researches both practical and theoretical. The residency is conceived as a meeting and work place where share ideas and experiences. The artists in residence will be asked to work on a project proposal which will be produced during their staying and to share it with The Blank. The project proposal will be presented at the conclusion of the residency during the Open Studio day.

Artists BIOS
Elida Brenna Linge (1982) is a Norwegian artist whose body of work spans installations, objects, drawings, artist books, photography and video. The last few years her practice has been rooted in her present location – the family farm in a fjord in western Norway. Her work is an ongoing investigation of structures, both physical and semantical, and aspects of control, intention and the lack thereof.
She received her MFA from The Bergen National Academy of the Arts (2010), in 2015 she finished a two year long cooperation with Andreas Siqueland, a residential art project located on the farm, with the exhibition Winterstudio/Hansplassen at KUBE, Ålesund. Other recent exhibitions include A Gust of Wind at DNA Art Space, London Ontario (CA) and SALE as a part of the Manifesta 10 parallel programme in St.Petersburg (RU). Her work is currently being screened by the Walter Phillips Gallery as a part of the Video Art @ The Banff Centre series.

Roberto Fassone (1986) makes works that explore and question the processes and the strategies regulating the production of contemporary artworks.
In 2012 he created sibi, an instructions generator for the production of potential artworks.
In 2014 he presented Jeg Er Enorme Jævler, a 90 minute movie in two parts and a performance.
He has exhibited and performed at Carroll/Fletcher, London, ZHdK, Zurich, MARS Gallery, Melbourne, MAMbo, Bologna among many others. He was part of the Jury Selection of the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival and he has been recently selected for the Live Work Performance Act Award in Fies (Dro, TN).

The Blank Kitchen. At dinner with Gabriele De Santis

Saturday 11th April 2015, h. 8.30 pm
The Blank Contemporary Art, via G. Quarenghi, 50 – Bergamo

The Blank Kitchen. At dinner with the film director Giacomo Abbruzzese

Wednesday, 11th March, h. 8.30 pm
Polaris life – Concept Store, Piazza della Libertà, 10 Bergamo

Buffet created and realized by the chef Nuccio Longhi

The Blank Kitchen. At lunch with Diego Marcon

Saturday 11th October 2014, h. 1.00 pm
The Blank Contemporary Art, via G. Quarenghi, 50 – Bergamo

Melancholia, Christian Fogarolli, 2012

Howard sisters, Christian Fogarolli, 2013

Jan Kaesbach

Jan Kaesbach

THE BLANK RESIDENCY | II EDITION PROJECT PROPOSAL RESIDENCY

Project Proposal Residency is an artist residency project.

The purpose of the project is to give hospitality to Italian and international artists for a short/medium period and offer them accommodation and relations aimed to develop artistic researches both practical and theoretical. The residency is conceived as a meeting and work place where share ideas and experiences. The artists in residence will be asked to work on a project proposal which will be produced during their staying and to share it with The Blank. The project proposal will be presented at the conclusion of the residency during the Open Studio day.

From 8 april to 18 may The Blank Residency hosts Christian Fogarolli (Trento, 1983) and Jan Keasbach. 

CHRISTIAN FOGAROLLI / STATEMENT AND BIOGRAPHY

The path and the work of Christian Fogarolli are characterized by a strong interest in the individual and collective identity systems, investigated through different perspectives and through frequent archival research. The artworks can be contextualized within a study on image and object perception in relation to subjectivity, probing ties with the abnormality and deviance. They pose questions about the abundance of images that we have and the use we offer them. The path and the work of Christian Fogarolli are characterized by a strong interest in the individual and collective identity systems, investigated through different perspectives and through frequent archival research. The artworks can be contextualized within a study on image and object perception in relation to subjectivity, probing ties with the abnormality and deviance. They pose questions about the abundance of images that we have and the use we offer them.
Christian Fogarolli was born in Trento in 1983. He obtained in 2010 the Master Inside the image: study, diagnosis and restoration of antique, modern and contemporary paintings at the University of Verona and graduated the following year in Management and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. He has exhibited in solo shows and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Christian Fogarolli was born in Trento in 1983. He obtained in 2010 the Master Inside the image: study, diagnosis and restoration of antique, modern and contemporary paintings at the University of Verona and graduated the following year in Management and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. He has exhibited in solo shows and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad.
In 2012 he was selected for dOCUMENTA (13) for the research project Lost identities, exhibited in The Worldly House; in 2013 he exhibited in La Magnifica Ossessione at the Mart in Rovereto. His works are in private and public collections including the Maison Rouge Antoine de Galbert in Paris, the AGI Collection and the Benetton Foundation.

JAN KAESBACH / STATEMENT AND BIOGRAPHY

Jan Kaesbach lives and works in Frankfurt. Recently he has finished his studies in Fine Art at the Ruskin, University of Oxford with distinction, being top of his year. As a student he showed his work at the University Club, Oxford; The Other Art Fair, London; MOLT Gallery, St Anne’s College among other places. He was an Assistant to the artists/photographers Justin Coombes and Tom Hunter. Completing his studies he was awarded the Kevin Slingsby price and selected for the Plaform Graduate Scheme. In July 2013 he participated in the Deutsche Börse Residency Program at Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany. In Dec 2013 he was shortlisted for an artist scholarship by the City of Frankfurt, decision pending.

The Blank Kitchen. At lunch with the artists Giulia Cenci, Ian Kaesbach and Christian Fogarolli

Sunday 18th May 2014, h. 1.00 pm
The Blank, via G. Quarenghi, 50 – Bergamo

The Blank Kitchen. At dinner with the artist Salvatore Arancio

Wednesday 26th March 2014, h. 8.00 pm
The Blank, via G. Quarenghi, 50 – Bergamo

ARTDATE
Contemporary Art Festival
XI edition
NEL TEMPO SOSPESO
11 12 13 14 November Bergamo

NEL TEMPO SOSPESO is the theme of the 11th edition of the Contemporary Art Festival ArtDate that will take place in Bergamo from November 11 to 14.
It is a large reflection on the indeterminacy and apprehension that is characterizing this unforgettable period of which we are all protagonists and testimonials, a historical phase also full of expectations and desires.

Thursday 11th, Friday 12th, Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th November, Bergamo will host the 11th edition of ArtDate, Contemporary Art Festival organized by The Blank.
Over the years, ArtDate has become a reference point able to approach and promote contemporary art to a large and diversified audience. In this edition, ArtDate presents many important innovations, focusing on the theme of suspended time, refreshing the attention to the issues of accessibility and participation.

S A L E
Where everything seems to be on sale, there is the risk of losing what really matters.

On Friday 13 December 2019 took place a special event organised in collaboration with The Blank by the Bergamo-based communication agency specialising in branding: Quid – Value to communication, sponsor of the exhibition Il Corpo Insensato (2019-2020, Palazzo della Ragione, curated by Stefano Raimondi), with two special guests: Andrea Mastrovito and Giuseppe Stampone dialogued with Stefano Raimondi, director of The Blank, and Lorenzo Sommariva, owner of Quid, on the union of art and communication, posing as a main question the question “what combines art and branding?”. Giuseppe Stampone also presented his new collection Sale, a series designed to remind how art is often confined to a decorative functions, at the expense of its expressive and critical power.

Andrea Mastrovito and Giuseppe Stampone share the same ability to create images and works that appear to be easy to understand but which, on the other hand, reveal a plurality of interpretations, great sensibility and a lot of artistic and other references.

In occasion of the 15th edition of BAF – Bergamo Arte Fiera, Andrea Mastrovito (Bergamo, Italy – 1978) and Vincenzo Simone (Seraing, Belgium – 1980), proposed a series of works as part of the benefit activities supporting the programming of The Blank.

THE BLANK 10^th ANNIVERSARY

JONATHAN MONK
BENEFITS TO SUPPORT THE ASSOCIATION’S ACTIVITIES

To celebrate in the best way the milestone of the first 10 years of activity, The Blank has had the pleasure to collaborate with the British artist Jonathan Monk who has realized exclusively for the association a new series of artworks whose proceeds will support the realization of new exhibitions and projects. The works take the ironic title Shelf Life, an English expression that defines the period of time during which a good can be stored without becoming unsuitable for use, consumption, or sale.

At the same time, the artwork is presented as a bookcase of life, where the chalk simulates the spines of books that accompany us through time. The series was created for the exhibition The Gift. On Life and Death that on 13^th November 2020 will open in Bergamo on the occasion of the Festival of Contemporary Art, Artdate.

Personal exhibitions have been dedicated to Jonathan Monk (Leicester, 1969. Lives and works in Berlin) at some of the most prestigious international institutions, including Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France), Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin, Ireland), Kunsthaus Baselland (Muttenz, Switzerland). His work has been included in many events, including the Whitney Biennial (2006), the 50th and 53rd Biennale di Venezia (2003, 2009), the Berlin Biennale (2001), and the Taipei Biennale (2000). In 2012 he was awarded the Prix du Quartier Des Bains, in Geneva.

JONATHAN MONK
Shelf life, 2020
Chalk on canvas series of 36 unique pieces
24 x 30 cm

800 €/ each
* The amount is paid as a contribution and liberal disbursement in support of the different cultural activities promoted by the Association “THE BLANK” and is deductible under the combined provisions of articles 100 paragraph 2 letter h) D.P.R. 917/1986 and art. 14 c. 1 D.L. 35/2005 – Social security contributions

for info and reservations: associazione@theblank.it

ARTDATE | ON-LINE
Contemporary Art Festival X edizione
IL DONO | THE GIFT

The Gift | The Gift is the theme of the 10th edition of the Contemporary Art Festival ArtDate which took place in Bergamo from 12th to 15th November.
As a reaction to the difficult historical moment we are living through, The Blank has chosen to convert the Festival into digital form instead of canceling it, thus giving a signal of resistance from the world of culture.

Here’s the links to see all the events of the Festival:

INAUGURAL LECTURE BY MASSIMO FINI
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
Massimo Fini, journalist and writer, in conversation with Claudia Santeroni on the theme of the “Gift” through a reading of Denaro, sterco del demonio, his essay written following the footsteps of Marcel Mauss.

EXHIBITION THE GIFT. ON LIFE AND DEATH
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
Link audio-videoguide in Italian and Italian Sign Language (LIS)
In waiting the exhibition to be open to the public, the curator Stefano Raimondi brings us to discover the artworks by Matilde Cassani, Alberto Garutti, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Andrea Mastrovito, Jonathan Monk, Andrea Romano, Namsal Siedlecki.

TALK with ED ATKINS and DAVID KAMP
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
Ed Atkins (artist and curator), David Kamp (composer and sound designer) and Stefano Raimondi (president of The Blank) discuss the exhibition project The Act Of Seeing With One’s Own Eye, that pays tribute to the production of the father of experimental cinema Stan Brakhage and David Kamp’s research.

GALLERIES TIME
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
The galleries and exhibition spaces of Bergamo and province present their projects through short videos.

TALK INFERNI. PAROLE E IMMAGINI DI UN’UMANITÀ AL CONFINE
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
Giuliano Zanchi presents the book by Giovanna Brambilla in conversation with the author.

TALK METAFOTOGRAFIA (2). THE MUTATIONS OF IMAGES
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
Presentation of the book with Sara Benaglia, Mauro Zanchi, Corrado Benigni, Teresa Giannico, Alessandro Sambini.

TALK ART, SIGNS, PERFORMANCE. REFLECTIONS ON VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Link Facebook
Link YouTube
curated by The Blank LISten Project
Rita Mazza (artistic director of Festival of Silence and sign performer), Nicola Della Maggiora (Visual Vernacular artist), Claudia Santeroni and Maria Marzia Minelli (curators engaged in a research on performance practices) introduce a reflection on Sign Language and its relationship with performative, theatrical and Visual Vernacular practices.

The works of Matilde Cassani and Andrea Romano were realized for The Gift exhibition during the residency at The Blank, made possible thanks to the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo.
The Festival is the result of a cultural agreement with the Municipality of Bergamo aimed at promoting and enhancing Bergamo as a city of art and culture. ArtDate is supported by the Lombardy Region and recognized by the EFFE – Europe for Festival, Festivals for Europe platform for its artistic quality, the involvement of the local community, and at the same time the European breath.

The Residence IN PRATICA is the winning project of the call for proposals “Per Chi Crea”, supported by Mibac and SIAE, realized in collaboration with AIR – artinresidence and in partnership with da FARE and Viaindustriae. From October to November 2019, 6 Italian artists under 35, selected by an international jury, realize a residency program that take them to Foligno and Bergamo.

The artists have been selected among the candidates from the residencies of the AIR-artinresidence network called to collaborate in the project, each one proposing up to a maximum of two Italian artists under 35.

The winners are:

Giovanni Chiamenti candidate from VIR Viafarini-in-residence, Matteo Coluccia candidate from GuilmiArtProject, Edoardo Ciaralli candidate from GuilmiArtProject, Mattia Ferretti candidate from Diogene-Bivaccourbano, Ludovico Orombelli candidate from R.A.M.O. Ritratto a Mano and Roberto Memoli candidate from RAMDOM.

The jury that selected the winning artists is composed of Stefano Raimondi, Carlo Sala and Eugenio Viola.

Thursday 14, Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, Bergamo hosts the ninth edition of the ArtDate Contemporary Art Festival, organized for the first time in the autumn, the protagonist of a cultural program of the city that runs throughout the year.
Over time it has become a point of reference capable of bringing contemporary art closer to and promoting a broad and diverse audience, the ninth edition of the Festival presents numerous important innovations, giving main attention to the themes of accessibility and participation.
Being part / Being part of, developed around 6 thematic sections (Show Time, Talk, Collections and Homes, Studio Visit, Kids, ArtErasmus), is an extensive reflection on the meaning of sharing, which starts from the human body and extends up to social and political body.
The theme around which the Festival is based is linked to the importance of the activity and autonomy of the individual operator within a system that supports and enhances its uniqueness, an analysis of cooperation in respect of contextual independence.
Come to an organism, where the greeting and the self-sufficiency of the parts are present in the well-being of the body it hosts, so the various realities that participate in ArtDate retain and cultivate their own singularity, but in the belief that coordinating is simpler than the intended purpose:
in this case, the growth and strengthening of the city’s cultural life.
The collective commitment is therefore combined with the high degree of autonomy and individual initiative in favor of the pursuit of shared intent.
The Festival turns into more than 30 events involving the whole city of Bergamo. The works of over 100 artists are presented and the projects include prestigious institutions such as GAMeC – Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art of Bergamo, Castello di Rivoli Education Department, Museum of Contemporary Art, BeGo – Benozzo Gozzoli Museum, MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, Thyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and TATE Modern in London.

On Friday 24 January 2019 The Blank proposes The Blank Kitchen | Irene Fenara – Tea and biscuits, a culinary event organized on the occasion of Bologna Art Week in Irene Fenara’s studio in Bologna.

The Blank Kitchen was born with the desire to bring some of the most interesting artists of the international scene in relation with art lovers and the curious through a transversal and convivial tool such as food and cooking.

Born in Bologna in 1990, Irene Fenara is an Italian artist who works mainly with video installation and photographic experimentation, focusing on interaction with surveillance cameras. Her research investigates the concept of time and memory, working with images that overturn points of view and generate situations of spatial disorientation, “with one eye on technology and the other on the sky”.

The Blank Benefit 2014
Guest Artist: Andrea Mastrovito
evening hosted by Cristina Rodeschini

Artists who donated:
David Adamo, Salvatore Arancio, Christian Fogarolli, Oscar Giaconia, Jan Kaesbach, Daniele Maffeis, Jacopo Miliani, Mladen Miljanovic, Gianni Politi, Luigi Presicce, Agne Raceviciute, Vincenzo Simone.

The Blank Benefit 2013

Artists who have donated:
Alis / Filliol, Davide Allieri, Francesco Arena, Riccardo Beretta, Filippo Berta, Simone Berti, Mariella Bettineschi, Davide Casari, Emma Ciceri, Cuoghi Corsello, Mario Cresci, Giovanni De Lazzari, Cécile B. Evans, Ettore Favini, Arianna Ferrari, Ferrario Freres, Pasquale Gadaleta, Oscar Giaconia, Marco Grimaldi, Miguel Guzmàn Pastor, Adelita Husni-Bey, Alex Martinis Roe, Andrea Mastrovito, Francesco Pedrini, Alexandros Pissourios, Grayson Revoir, Andrea Romano, Giuseppe Stampone, Maria Francesca Tassi, Gian Maria Tosatti.